Knighthood Day!!!

Watch as Elle live updates the blog while Webb attempts Sufferlandrian knighthood:

http://triathletesjourney.blogspot.com/2013/09/knighthood-of-sufferlandria-for-waterorg.html

And follow along as I tweet photos and other fun things: https://twitter.com/Boston_Elle

Race Report: Pumpkinman Half Iron

The Experiment:
As readers of the blog may remember, this was to be a short-course season of only sprints and international-distance races. The idea was to focus on getting faster and then next year maybe bump it back up to long course. As my training was cruising along, I noticed my volume was not that different from last year's 70.3 training, but with more intensity. Pumpkinman had come highly recommended and Elle was looking for late-season sprints since coming off early-season knee surgery. I decided to see if the last few years of training had developed enough base fitness to get me through a half-iron distance course without actually doing any half-iron specific training.

Why yes, I'd love some
coffee...

The only hiccup - and hiccups are literally my least favorite thing in the world - was that I strained a muscle in my back in mid-June. For two months my training was inconsistent as I took off multiple days a week, missing workouts as the back pain migrated to my hip with sciatica-type symptoms. I really started to regret my decision to register for the race. The last two-weeks of August were ok as I put in some easy, endurance efforts on the bike and decreased my run volume. And swimming? Yeah, whatever.

I was disappointed because the back injury had corrupted The Experiment. I would not know if my poor performance was due to two-months of spotty training or a result of only short-course training. There was nothing I could do, so I abandoned any expectations. The plan was simple: Have fun. I would go easy in the swim and play it by ear on the bike. If I was having a good day and crushing it, I wouldn't care about the effects on my run. If I was feeling dodgy, I'd go easy and see what I had for the half-marathon. Have fun. That was it.

Pre-Race:
Waking up well before dawn is not fun. If there is one thing I could change about this sport, it would be the start times. Believe me, I get it, safety requires the pre-dawn starts. Blah blah blah. I still hate getting up early to do workouts or races. So it was with a heavy sigh that I set my alarm for Sunday morning at 4:00AM. Luckily I laid low Saturday evening and actually found myself pretty tired around 9:00PM. Usually I can't fall asleep before 11:00, especially the night before a race. I probably nodded off not long after 10:00, which was good because I woke up all by myself at 3:30AM.

Staring at the red light of the alarm clock in the hotel room, I considered my options: 1) Go back to bed and attempt to squeeze in another 30 minutes, or 2) get up and start getting ready. Option 1 was a pretty poor choice because we all know I was just going to lay there telling myself to just fall asleep already and wake up 15 minutes later confused. Option 2 prevailed. Time for breakfast!

Wetsuit stretchin'

The Swim: 1.2 mile pond swim
Of all the disciplines, the swim was the biggest question mark. Even before the back injury, I did not swim much this year. Nonetheless I have had some not-bad times due to my improved sighting and drafting. Another reason my swim times have been ok is that we've actually done swim warm-ups prior to the races. <GASP> I know, right?  On this day, I goofed around too long in the TA setting up and chatting with my neighbors. By the time I arrived at the pond they were calling people out of the water for the mandatory meeting. So be it.

I was in the 6th or 7th wave or roughly 20 minutes after the pro's/elites. I stretched and chatted with Elle, which we never get to do. You know just hanging around watching people race and spectators spectating. Then this guy comes up and says, "All green caps need to be at the water." Whoa! That was my wave queueing up at the water's edge. I hustled down and stepped into the back of the pack.

The course was an interesting two-lap, counter-clockwise triangle. There would be no getting out of the water between laps like ITU races. This was new to me because I have never been in a race where I would be merging with swimmers from prior waves starting their second loop. It turned out not to be a big deal, that is, until a guy punched me in the face. I mean, full-on punch landing square on my left cheek forcing my mouth open and giant drink of pond water. I had to tread water for a bit and cough up a bunch of water. By the way, who swims like that? I've been hit many times in the face in swim starts. It is usually not a big deal. To full on hit someone the way he did shows a basic lack of body awareness. Anyway, I hope he flatted out on the bike. Just kidding. Not really, I do hope he flatted - gave him some time to think about his closed-fist-caveman stroke.

The swim was uneventful after my encounter with Punchy Swimster. The water was warmer than usual at 72 degrees. For some reason my navigation went errant a couple of times. The result was that I wasn't able to draft as well as I did earlier in the season. All in all I was only about a minute off from last year's Timberman swim time. Not bad for a negligent swimmer/boxer.

Look at that hill....

The Powderhouse Hill Run to T1: About 250 meters
This transition is ... unkind. Really? A 250m uphill run to the TA? It is serious enough that you get a separate split time for your hill run and they give awards to the fastest ascent. I would not be competing for that trophy. In fact, unlike Elle the day before, I walked the final 20m at the top. I figured I had at least 5 more hours of exercise ahead of me.

T1: Soooo tirrrrrrrred
I have nothing to say here. I don't remember it. That hill climb was hard.

The Bike: 55 miles
My favorite bike course ever? Possibly. The course is a sort of double-loop lollilop design. You bike out a bit, do two dissimilar loops of rolling hills and then come back almost the same way. Even though I tossed aside my goals, I generally expected to do the ride in under 3 hours. I figured if I gave myself 40 minutes to swim, 3 hours for the bike and 2 hours for the run I could do the whole course in 5:45. On paper it makes total sense. In reality, I'd never raced a 70.3 that fast.

Right away I felt like I was pushing too hard. I couldn't see my computer from my aero position so I really didn't know how fast I was going. My perceived effort definitely felt too high for a 50+ mile ride. I tamped it down a bit and tried to find a mellow but fast cruising pace. Once I came into the hills that became a little difficult. There are no big climbs in this race, just roller-after-roller. Without the luxury of previewing the course (by bike or car), I was riding blind. It was difficult to manage effort not knowing what was down the road. I told myself to maintain a steady 3-hour effort whether it was uphill or downhill.

The course is beautiful and while much of the roads were not of great quality, there are some super fast smooth sections. Indeed, I think the half-iron bike course has better quality road than the sprint course. At any rate, at the 1hr15 mark I checked the distance to get an idea of how far and how long I had. I had gone 25 miles. Hmmmm, a 20mph average - not bad. That would give me a nice 15 minute cushion on my 3 hour projection, unless of course I blew up.  At the 30 mile mark I was still on pace as I felt the first bit of tightness in both glutes. My body was politely nudging me to back off a little.

The next 20 miles were spent trying to find the best times to try to stretch my glutes and hamstrings. I began standing more on climbs to move blood into different areas and lengthen my muscles. It didn't seem to help. Mile 50 is when the real fun began. First I noticed that my overall average had dropped. More importantly, the first full-on leg cramp arrived. It hit me high up near where the hamstring meets the glute. I adjusted my cadence; thankfully, it abated. I did this dance for the final 5 miles. Each time the cramp spread over a larger area of my leg. The final approach into the TA is a roughly 1/2 mile climb. I was tired (mostly, mentally exhausted) from trying to keep the cramp at bay. As I hit the hill, I was out of the saddle to try to stretch it out. Immediately both hamstrings and outside quads (abductor/ITB areas) seized up. I nearly fell off the bike. I collapsed onto my saddle seated, shifted to the easiest gear and soft pedaled my way to the summit. If only I knew what was to come.

T2: If I could put time in a bottle.
I approached the dismount line and pondered just how exactly I thought I would get off the bike. It is not like my legs were going to cooperate. They were angry, pouting and probably just needed a nap. As it was, there were some problems extracting my feet from the pedals. Once free and straddling the top tube, I stood there for several seconds considering which leg I would attempt to swing over the bike. I honestly don't remember how I eventually dismounted.

I cowboy-walked my bike to my rack and ditched my helmet and shoes. As I reached for my running shoes, I had a moment of clarity: Hell no. I'm going to lay down on the asphalt and have a nice stretch. So that's what I did for about 3 minutes. Maybe I should have stayed longer. Or gave those legs the nap they wanted.

Running on a flat section!

The Run: 13.1 miles
I wouldn't call this run course hard. Oh wait, yes I will. Similar to the bike course it is a double-looped lollipop. Run out, do two loops and run back. Sorta. After the first mile and a half the course is a series of rolling hills. None of the hills are particularly bad, just relentlessly up and down. When you are not going up, you are going down.

My real problem was my glutes and hamstrings felt like they were still on the verge of cramping. The first 1/2 mile or so is a downhill run. I convinced myself to keep my feet under me and let gravity do the work. At the bottom of the hill the course turns left onto one of the few flat stretches. My legs were killing me. As I contemplated the heaviness of my quads and tightness of my hamstrings and glutes, I watched a hawk circle 30 feet above me. I was easy prey but too close to carrion for his tastes.

The earlier brisk overcast morning gave way to a sunny and pleasantly warm day. (This the part where you remember I don't like to run in sunny or even slightly warm weather. I'm a member of Overheaters Anonymous.) After the first two miles I stopped for the first time to stretch. According to my watch, I had more than 2 hr, 15 min to finish to have a PR. If I kept moving, I could do that. No problem!

For the next 11 miles I ran on the razor's edge between tolerable pain and collapsing. I drank water. I drank Gatorade. I ate gels until I thought I might gamble and lose. The only thing that helped was stopping. Too bad that wasn't going to get me anywhere. Then again my "running" didn't feel much faster. So I stopped often to stretch or walk. Each time I looked at my watch and was surprised that I still had time in the bank. To be sure, I was making withdrawals at an increasing rate. Yet, there was still time. I ran. I stopped to stretch. I ran some more. I walked and then ran again. I repeated this pattern over and over again. And then suddenly I was at the foot of the final climb. I just had to run this 1/3 of a mile, over the top and then drop down a grassy descent across the finish line. Damnit, would you know it, I couldn't just run to the summit. I had to stop and walk a portion about half way. It was either that or collapse and log-roll back to the bottom. Once over the top, I ran with a devil-may-care abandon that nearly sent me headlong sliding on my face across the finish line. That was an acceptable risk. As it turned out, I crossed the finish line with a new half-iron distance PR. Pretty damn cool.

The Takeaway: Volume and Run Training
For me, I need volume with smart doses of intensity. This past year I worked hard on my running, especially with the help of Dan and my fellow SEAC>Elite crew. Dan trained me smarter and they pushed me harder than I ever would on my own. Even though my run was a solid 10 minutes slower than I expected, it was my dedication to improve that discipline that allowed me to survive the run throughout the threat of cramps. All that hard work dialed in my pace so that when I ran, I ran well. It was the stopping and walking that brought me down. Believe me, I did a lot more than 10 minutes of stretching and walking. This next off-season I will re-dedicate myself to continue to improve my run fitness and speed while being smarter about finding time to ride and yes, oh yes, get back to swimming consistently.

Next year, I'm going sub-5:30.

Final Stats:
Swim - 38:23
Powderhouse Hill Run - 1:33
T1 - 2:38
Bike - 2:47:08
T2 - 4:10
Run - 2:09:34

Finish: 5:43:25

Race Report: Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon

Leaving Ogunquit at dawn

Webb: On Saturday September 7, Elle competed in the Pumpkinman Sprint Triathlon held in South Berwick, ME. This race came highly recommended and being the Mainiac that she is, we decided to make it a mini-vacation. Hey, they don't call Maine "Vacationland" for nothing.

Elle found us a nice place to stay on the coast in nearby Ogunquit, about a 20-minute drive to the race site. We had vacationed in Ogunquit a few years back after I finished my first international-distance triathlon (Fireman). We loved it so much, we had to return. Enough about that, let's hear what she has to say about the race.

Athlete prepares for the swim warm-up

Elle stressing out

Elle: Pre-Race: We headed out to the race site on Friday to pick up our packets and check out the race site. Usually we try to train on at least some part of the course, but we hadn't this time. So we decided to drive the bike and run course. Holy crappy roads, batman! I mean, the car was having trouble on them, how would the bike handle it? And I say this, as crazy as it seems, but even though the bike and the run were loops, they honestly seemed to be uphill both ways. Just hill after hill. One of the roads on the bike course was even called 'Great Hill Road'. You can guess what that meant. And you'd be right. But anyway, back to pre-race: I had another great number: 617. Yeah, Boston's area code. Sweet! Could that be a sign of good things to come?
Race morning, after I set up my transition area, Webb and I got in a little run on the course, which ended up being a good idea, because I got a chance to experience the hill I'd be finishing on. Then we did some drills. I was feeling good.

Powderhouse Hill Run to T1
(about 150m to the top)

The Swim: 1/3 mile pond swim
Elle: I actually got a nice warm-up swim in beforehand, which I think is really important. Since I've been doing that, my swims have improved. And this was no different. I've been swimming my races with a new technique, and it didn't let me down today - for the first time ever, not only did I catch up to the swim group that started before mine, I caught up to the swim group that started before them! Swim PR!

The Hill Run to T1: About 250 meters
Elle: The hill out of the swim was tough, I'll admit. I was pretty tired at the top, but I thought it was kinda fun. I might be weird that way.

The Bike: 14.25 miles
Elle: So the roads were bad, but I knew what to expect, so I was extra careful to pay special attention to the road - one distraction could mean heading right into a flat tire and race over.

I didn't want that to happen! I usually don't get passed on the bike by women, but there was one woman (and in my age group!) who did pass me, then I would pass her. We continued to leap-frog for a bit. I could have sworn that after she passed me the second time she looked back at me - what? There's no need for that! So I decided: if you want to play that game, fine. But I'm racing my race, I'm not getting caught up in your race. If you want to beat me, fine, but I'm going to make you work for it. So I worked hard, but I didn't kill myself. After I passed her the third time, I never saw her again.
When I finally go to Great Hill Road, it was actually pretty great, because people had spray-painted the road with encouraging, inspirational messages, one of which was, "Shut up legs!" That put a huge smile on my face.

The Run: 3 miles
Elle: Thanks to all the brick workouts that Nate had me doing, I felt good off the bike. Not only

that, but most of the run was nice and shady, and I felt strong passing people. I had this strange, nagging suspicion that I was being chased, but I didn't want to look back (I once saw a sign at a road race, "Look in the direction you want to go"). I felt good at the finish, maybe too good, I could have pushed it harder on the run, oh well, lessons for next time.
Oh, and this was the first time my mom came to see me race. I think it was fun for her. I certainly didn't feel that I'd have a stellar race day (I won't get into how much I had drank two days prior, or how I had been praying to the porcelain god the morning before the race...). So I didn't believe Webb when he said I had podiumed. But sure enough: second in my age group! I think it was great for my mom to see and understand this 'strange hobby' of mine. Now she could understand. And the medal is a bottle opener, which I actually ended up using the next day...

Racing in Maine: Whoopie pies and Bottle-openers

Representing the 617

The Tour of Utah...in photos

Jensie in the breakaway!

I made it to the summit of the Queen's stage! And saw a chicken!	Steiner siblings atop the Queen's stage summit
Nice view...	Here come the riders...
Here comes the chase group...	Ryder bears the weight of a nation
Hey, it's our friend Pat riding for Team Bissell!

Having a bite on Main Street in Park City

Tour of Utah, the final day...

Jens Voigt!!!!!

Knighthood of Sufferlandria for Water.org

UPDATES!

1. Video one completed! There is No Try.
2. Natasja is here for video 2: Angels...
(some technical difficulties during Angels, but I think we're back in business.)
3. HHNF: Elle & Webb suffer together!
4. ISLAGIATT: And Lenny is in the house! Webb looking strong...

5. Dan has arrived and Revolver is.....revolving.
6. It's a fight! It's Fight Club! Webb inches ever closer to knighthood...
7. Emily is heading for a Downward Sprial, Webb leading the way. (Note: Elle stepped in, since Emily ran the BAA 1/2 marathon earlier today)
8. B-B-B-Blender!!!!!! Elle & Webb, suffering together together again.
9. So Wretched. Quads, aching. Sit bones, burning. Under-regions, throbbing. Enjoy, Michelle.
10. Elle & Webb - with the big finish by going to A Very Dark Place where Webb will achieve Sufferlandrian knighthood....

Sir Webb Brightwell has arrived!!!!!!!!

Attempt at Knighthood of Sufferlandria for Water.org

On Oct 13th, Webb will make an attempt to become a Knight of Sufferlandria. 

To do that he will need to complete at least 10 of TheSufferfest.com’s indoor cycling workouts back-to-back with no more than 10 minutes separating each. Those of you who are familiar with TheSufferfest.com know how wonderfully hard the workouts are. The sessions range from 45 minutes to 2 hours each, which basically means he will be on his bike for more than 11 hours. It will be the hardest one-day endurance event he has ever attempted.

Obviously proper hydration will be critical to success. Perhaps less obvious will be how critical it is that our bathroom is a mere 15-foot walk. We do not take such easy access to clean water and sanitary waste systems for granted. It is also not lost on us that undertaking such suffering is a choice we make. It is why we joined Team Water.org.

We joined Team Water.org in 2012 after watching “Running the Sahara” and meeting Team Captain Kyle Damon at the Multisport Expo at MIT. It was a natural fit. Endurance training is arduous, yet it is still a choice we make. Indeed it is a luxury. We do not wake everyday in extreme poverty, lack access to plumbing or are confronted with a 6km (3.7 miles) walk to get water for the household (the average distance a person walks in the developing world to get clean water).  Sadly this a daily reality for millions. While this is a daunting thought, Water.org has done an amazing job of providing access to clean water and sanitation efficiently and effectively. Each $25 donation provides water for someone - for life. 

To help Webb get through this endeavor we are going to have a Sufferfestival where people can join in the workouts. It doesn't matter where you live or train, you can take part. In the next couple of weeks we will post the schedule of workouts below. UPDATE: Just pick any workout on the schedule below. To participate, we only ask that you do one of these two options:

1. Donate to Water.org here: http://give.water.org/fundraiser/1338/

2. Join to Team Water.org: www.team.water.org 

If you don't already own a TheSufferfest.com workout, you can read descriptions and watch samples of the videos here: http://www.thesufferfest.com/video-sufferfests/

At the top and bottom of list of videos you can click to open a comparison table. 

Please comment below or email us at triathletesjourney@gmail.com if you want to join us. 

UPDATE: A big, big thanks to www.cyclingtraining.ws for the support. Do yourselves a favor and check out their website. There is some great nutritional information and gear reviews AND buy some Skratch from them!

Schedule of Suffering

Workouts below are linked to trailers. You can view all of TheSufferfest.com's trailers on Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/thesufferfest 
Spots marked Reserved are, well, um, reserved by someone who will be riding next to me. That doesn't mean you cannot join me in the agony of your own torture chamber.

            

        Start Times
        (EST/GMT)                        Workout                                                          Duration     Reserved

1.   7:00AM/11:00AM           There Is No Try                                                       55:00

2.   8:00AM/12:00PM            The Hunted                                                           1:02:00                  X

3.   9:10AM/1:10PM              Hell Hath No Fury                                                1:15:00

4.  10:35AM/2:35PM             It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time       1:56:00

5.  12:40PM/4:40PM              Revolver                                                                  50:00                   X

6.    1:35PM/5:35PM              Fight Club                                                             1:01:00                   X

7.    2:45PM/6:45PM              Downward Spiral                                                 1:02:00

8.    3:55PM/7:55PM              Blender                                                                  1:44:00

9.    5:45PM/9:45PM              The Wretched                                                          49:00

10.  6:40PM/10:40PM            A Very Dark Place                                                  54:00                   X

Anticipated End Time: 7:34PM
Estimated Workout Time: 11 hrs, 28 min
Lives changed by donors: 44 and counting ...

Race Report: Boston Triathlon

Race Report: The Boston Triathlon Sprint

Race morning:
Webb:  The race was scheduled to go off at 8AM. We had a WHOLE two miles to travel from our apartment door to the transition area. O brother! Would we get up in time???

Elle: So. We woke up, got ready, and were out of the apartment on time. A small miracle, really. We biked over to the race site, it was sunny & pleasant. We could tell it was going to be a good day, I mean, we couldn't have asked for better weather. Right on.
We had picked up our race packets the day before and had applied our nifty race number tattoos - plus the age tattoo for your calf - not to be confused with your cattle. I love and hate the race tattoos. They look supercool and make race morning run more smoothly, but they're a bear to get off, at least for me.
Anyhow, let me tell you about my sweet rack location - right at the end of transition near the swim in and bike in. Score! I had a good feeling about the day...

Race morning: it was going to be a good day

Webb: Meanwhile I was tucked in the middle, at the end of my rack. Anyway, we arrived early enough to set up and go for a shake-out run, including some light running drills before squeezing into our wetsuits. We walked the 1/4 mile or so to the swim start to find we were among only five or so swimmers. Not so strange considering it was at least 20 minutes before the mandatory pre-race meeting. We swam out to the first sight buoy and back, stopping a few times to tread water and chat. The water temp was bearable, definitely warmer than our prior races. Still I felt pretty crappy. My shoulders felt tight, my lungs small and I just didn't have much energy. I tried to push away any negative thoughts about not being able to meet my goal of a 1:15:00 finish.

The Swim: 1/2 mile ocean swim:
Webb: My wave was the third to go after the elites and the young ones. Having been a negligent swimmer this year I was wondering how to place myself. I found myself herded into the back and to the left. Any consternation I had from the warm-up was gone as I became preoccupied with the return of the nagging pain in my hip. (I really need to sort that out once and for all.) The announcer then alerted us that we would be off in 30 seconds and the next sound we heard would send us off. True enough, half-a-minute later he shouted "Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!"

And then we walked into the ocean. Walked. There were a bunch of us in my AG and a million more broken shells and razor-like rocks gnashing out at our feet. Once in the water I followed my Escape The Cape strategy: Find feet and swim long and easy. All went splendidly. The warm-up tightness and breathlessness was absent as I moved along trading one pair of feet for the next. My goal was to enter T1 in 15 minutes. I entered the TA at 15:13.

Elle: I had one of the best swims of my life. Perhaps it was all that swim training I had done? I spent a lot more time in the pool working on my swim, and then on race day, I had a good swim. Who knew? I actually felt like I was zooming through the water, a new experience for me. And then, before I knew it, the swim was over and I was speeding through T1. In and out in a whopping 1:14.

T1: Wait? How long did that take you?

Elle: I don't know, man, things were just going right. I have to admit, I was having a good day...

Webb: Seriously? That might be a new Triathletes Journey record. Elsewhere, I took forever in T1. At some point my race number tore off one side of my race belt and I spent too long trying in vain to fix
it.

The Bike: 9 miles

Webb: The course was a double loop. Loops are fast. On this day the loops meant two headwinds and two tailwinds. Once I finally was on the bike I gave it full throttle. I immediately began passing people who were not on tri or aero bikes. It had been awhile since I survived a bike leg without being passed. I cruised into the parking lot at the end of the first loop into a mandatory slow zone. O! It was so maddening! It is necessary for safety reasons, but I was having so much fun hammering away I didn't want to slow down at all. Not far into the second loop I heard the tell-tale whoosh-whoosh of carbon wheels hauling ass behind me. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Thankfully he was the only one to pass me and he wasn't in my age group. This time the goal was to enter T2 by the 43:00 mark. A quick look at my watch revealed 41 something. Sweet!

Elle: And then it happened...the first snafu of the day: as I rolled out of T1, all confident and smiley, I full on dropped my chain. Arrgghh! Everything had been going so well! So there I was, with a gaggle of on-lookers watching as I clumsily (yet quickly) grabbed my chain and practically threw it back on the ring, with no regards to the massive amount of grease that I now had all over my hands. I could almost hear a collective sigh of relief coming from the crowd that had gotten oddly quiet as they watched my debacle. The experience had caused a massive amount of adrenaline to rush through my whole body, and I bolted down the road on my Trek like a bat out of hell, passing rider after rider. And that feeling stayed with me for the whole (albeit short) bike course. Maybe the dropped chain had been a blessing in disguise? Either way, I now had a nice collection of sweat and grease smeared all over my face now. Sweet.

T2: In and out: Did we do a T2 for this race?

Elle: 59 seconds in T2. I always like to keep it under a minute, so we're all good there.

Webb: I also had a surprisingly good transition at under 50 seconds. No one knows why.

The Run: 4.4 miles

Webb: A flat, out and back. Pretty simple. Two point two miles out; two point two miles back. The strategy was all out, so I was all-in. I ran hard. Probably too hard. My breath was rapid as I focused on my cadence. The younger runners kept falling past me as I pushed up the line. This was an entirely new experience for me. The run is usually where I fall off pace. And then that old, fatigued feeling re-emerged. My pace slackened as I neared the two-mile mark. Trying to keep it together I reminded myself that no one in my age group had passed me. I just needed to keep it up. O how my body resisted. Just before the turnaround I was caught by two guys in my age group. I vowed to myself not to let anyone else catch me. I continued to pass the younger guys while not seeing anyone else in my age group. To be sure some guys did pass me but they were all in their 50s. Then with about a mile and a half to go I was caught again. I was hurting and could not match him. At this point I did not think I could reach him or my 1:15 goal. My one motivating thought was, "Hell, just get this race over with!" I reached deeper into the suitcase of pain and picked up the pace. All of a sudden the race chute was in sight. I popped over the curb onto the grass for the final 100 meters. With about 50 meters to go I saw the last guy in my age group to pass me. He had no idea I was there. I left it all in that chute as I ran past him and collapsed just after the finish line. I ended up beating him by three seconds, finishing in 1:15:00 on the nose.

Third place!

Elle: I was anxious to get out on the run - this was basically my first real attempt at racing a triathlon for the year. Not much to say, really, I just ran my ass off. I'll be honest, it felt good to pass people! Webb had said to me before the race, that I should have a goal of finishing without anything left in the tank, and I thought about that while I was out there, pounding the pavement. As I was nearing the end of the run, I saw a woman up ahead who was in my age group. I decided to put everything I had out on the line to catch her. Which I did. I hung back behind her for awhile, wondering when I should make my move. And then I just did. I kept waiting for a counter-attack, but it never came. I crossed the finish line. And then I fell to the ground. I'm sure if she had known that she was about to lose third place to me, she might have tried harder. But she didn't. I did. And now I have a trophy to show for it. Sweet.

Post-race: Rolling, rolling, rolling... (Thanks MuscleMilk!)

Getting ready for the 'Love Run'
(post-triathlon 5k run run)

Elle: Just a quick note about the post-race. After the awards ceremony, there was a 5k "fun run" hosted by the race director, aimed at connecting active people (singles!) to each other. Obviously Webb and I aren't single, but they are open to having couples run too. The race director, who we've met at other events, convinced us the day before it would be a good cool down run. So we figured, Why not? What's another 3 miles...
The group pretty much stayed together as we all chatted our way through the 5k, with the Atlantic ocean as a back-drop, it was kind of romantic. And sweaty.

Mass. State Triathlon - Volunteering!

Elle: Webb and I decided it was time that we gave a little something back to the community that gives us so much enjoyment and pain (but in a good way). So on July 14, we headed out to Winchendon, Massachusetts to volunteer at the Mass State Triathlon with TeamWater.org.
Water.org is an organization that is all about getting water to those in need. Team Water.Org is a collection of athletes who participate in a variety of endurance events united in the common cause to support Water.org's efforts. Chances are if you are reading this you don't take water for granted. Anyway, our team captain is Kyle Damon, who is also a triathlete. Webb emailed Kyle and told him we wanted to help the team volunteer at the Mass State Tri. And so we did.

Webb: The Mass State Tri has both sprint and olympic distance races. Team Water.org was manning the water station at the 6km mark. This was a symbolic water stop as the average person in developing countries walks 6km to obtain clean water for the household. I don't know about you, but I walk to my sink to fill up my water bottles. This was a great chance to give back to the triathlon community while raising awareness of the global problem of access to clean water.

Karen Smyers handing out water @ 6K,me, supporting with the back-up water
photo credit: Team Water.org 

On race day, the sun was out in full force. Just setting up the water and HEED table we could feel the heat beginning to bear down on us. The first athlete to come through was our friend Nate. (If you want to read a race report check out his.) A bit later 2nd came through with 3rd place not far behind. in fact he would end up overtaking him. Then a small stream of the fast athletes started flowing through. With no warning that stream became a flood as the mid-packers began to arrive. And it was only getting hotter. We stood out there for 2 hours in the hot sun, passing out water to people fighting dehydration. It was kind of exhausting. I told Kyle I wish I had worn my Garmin so I could log it as a workout. And to add a bit of triathlon celebrity to the day, Karen Smyers was there, handing out water with the rest of us.

Elle: Karen Smyers is not only one of the first people inducted into the Triathlon Hall of Fame, but also seems to keep showing up in our lives. I'm going to take that as a sign that we were meant to be triathletes.

Team Water.org @ the Mass State Triathlon 
photo credit: Team Water.org

So, it was hot. Super hot. And sunny. That sun beat down on us for quite some time. You really appreciate water on a day like this. I was glad we had decided to volunteer, but it was work, for sure. Finally it was quitting time, and we headed back to the transition area - we congratulated Nate, and checked in with our other friends. All of the usual suspects were there: Beth Allen, Jorge Martinez, Ed Galante, Jessica Douglas and all the rest. We hung out with the Team Water.org peeps for awhile, but we still had a bike workout to get in. So I ended up changing into my bike shorts in a port-o-potty, not my finest hour.
Then, we took our hot, sweaty, tired bodies and started our 2-hour ride. We did the olympic bike course from the race, plus a mystery loop that included an off-road section, plus a category 4 climb. Thanks Webb!, I won't get into all the gory details, but I was glad when that ride was over. Sometimes you're hot and tired and hurting, and the last thing you want to do is workout. But you make it happen. And in the end, you're stronger for it. I think...