Race Report: Cambridge Oktoberfest 5K

Elle: So, we did this race last year. It was notably not well organized, but then again, it was their first year doing this race. Race packet pick-up was a  mess, and race morning no one knew where the start line was or which direction we were running. But in the end, the glorious beer garden after the race helped us forget all of the bad times as we got wasted on Cambridge Beer Company's brew.

Breakfast with
Senor Cheeseburger

Webb: Last year's race was so utterly disorganized that I had no interest in running it again. This year, however, one of our SEAC friends put together a team and invited Elle to join. Everyone was signing up and I was holding out. All I could think about was just how annoyed I was last year. I finally relented and joined the team.

Elle: The day before the race was the Ironman World Championship in Kona. We turned it on at noon, when the race started and streamed from the live computer feed to the TV. Around 5pm Dan showed up and we started drinking. And we didn't stop until 2am.

Webb: Watching the Kona coverage was obviously motivating. Our experience was amplified by tracking our friend (one of Dan's besties), Nate, debut there. Nate had qualified at the Eagleman 70.3 and had not actually done an Iron-distance race or even run a marathon before.

Seeing Ed at the race.

He. Crushed. It.
His overall time was 9:17 in conditions former Ironman World Champ Faris al-Sultan described as among the harshest he's raced. Apparently the legendary heat of the lava fields was as impressive as ever. According to Nate, the temperatures don't do it justice. It was just oppressive. Many believed the conditions added 15 minutes or more to finishing times. He came in 5th in his Age Group. Unfortunately, due to the delay on the Athlete Tracker we missed Nate crossing the finish line. Dan had been pointing his phone at our TV for several minutes hoping to capture the moment only to get the call that he'd already crossed. Bummer.

Elle: Cut to race morning: the weather was baaaaaad. It was chilly. It was rainy. It was dreary on all accounts. But we had promised Natasja, so we got our

Starting to feel ill...

gear on and headed out into the cold, rainy morning. Completely hung over.

Webb: And don't forget we had slept for maybe 3.5 hours. Originally we were going to bike over. Then we were going to take public transportation. Then we were going to take a cab. When I saw the rain and realized that there was a 95% chance I wasn't going to have even a sip of beer, I decided to drive. We were there in a matter of minutes, found a good parking space and were probably the first runners to arrive. Since we were really early, we went to The Friendly Toast, a sorta funky diner with punk playing softly in the background. It had all these crazy things all over the wall, including Señor Cheeseburger.

Elle: Finally the time had come, so we stripped down to our race clothes, dropped off our bags at the bag check, and stood around, chilling. Literally.

Soon enough we started seeing folks we know: Jason, Ed, Natasja, Mike, Nicole, Emily, Paul, Bridget.

Webb lookin' strong

I was still feeling pretty hung-over, but started strong anyway. That all went downhill after about halfway through, at which point I was in great danger of losing it on the race course. And I figured the other runners probably didn't want my vomit all over their shoes, so I had to slow down. And after I crossed the finish line, I felt the danger again. But luckily, I was able to keep everything inside, where it belongs. However, at the beer garden afterwards, when someone walked by with a pint, I felt ill.

Webb: I did not feel good at all. Well, that's not entirely true. My legs felt oddly springy. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that I had just ate at a Brazilian BBQ joint. Regardless, I stuck with my plan to go for a PR. I took off fast. I did not have my Garmin or a watch (which didn't matter because I did not see any mile markers) so I did my best to keep the pedal down. Somewhere around the half-way point I nearly quit, or at least pulled over to take a break. Even though it was chilly, I was burning up. I decided it was better to get the race over quickly than to prolong it by stepping off the course. I slowed down a bit and hoped I had enough for a strong finish. I crossed the finish line with a new PR (by :08). So the question is: Did the 8 hours of drinking and 3.5 hours of sleep improve or diminish my performance?

The winning team!

Elle: We had a good time hanging out with everyone, even though the weather was kinda crappy. We stuck around for the awards ceremony because Natasja thought we might actually have a chance of placing. And what do you know, our team came in first place! After we collected our award (a cool mug) we all headed to the South End for brunch at The Gallows. Good times...

post-race brunch

Public Body: Work Hard Play Hard Weekend

Elle: This summer I signed up for Public Body - a bootcamp-style class in the South End, sponsored by SEAC. Every Wednesday we would spend an hour in a different park, sweating our butts off doing cross-training and strength work. It was challenging and fun. And the group was great. Chad Flahive, the creator of Public Body decided it would be a good idea to have a fall weekend - 3 days of workouts in a row. In Provincetown. That sounded like a dream mini-vaca to me!
It was tough to find an affordable place to stay in Ptown, even in the fall season. But luckily I found the Sunset Inn, a B&B right near the center of town. It offered free parking, got good reviews on tripadvisor.com, and when I called, the owner was very nice, so I booked right away.

Webb: I took the day off from work (which basically meant I worked from home) to finish my packing and make sure I picked Elle up right at 5:00PM for our drive to Ptown. It has been several years since we drove to Cape Cod. In the summer it can take 3 hours to get to Ptown for what should be a 2:15-2:30 drive. We weren't sure about early fall, so we tried to give ourselves time. We almost made it. It took nearly 3 hours.

Elle: The traffic getting out there was tough, so by the time we arrived, we were running late. We checked in, quickly changed into our workout clothes, and ran down Commercial street to make it to the 1st workout of the weekend.

We walked onto the dance floor space that the Crown & Anchor was letting us use as a temp gym studio. Chad announced that I was the only woman there for the weekend. I looked around, and indeed, not another woman in sight. Good? Bad? I didn't care, I was just excited to be there. And the first workout of the weekend was on! Andy, Chad's co-conspirator, led us through what he described as an elongated 'warm-up', not too hard, but enough to get a sweat on, that's for sure.

Webb: Um, I got a sweat on. In fact, I was fairly disgusting.

Elle: After sweating for almost a solid hour, most of the group went out for dinner. We didn't stay up too late though, we had a big day ahead of us.

SATURDAY: From A to B.
A is for amphitheatre, B is for beach

Webb: Saturday's itinerary was a doozy.
We met at 9:30am at the bike rental shop for a nice little ride on paved paths among the dunes. First stop: repeat Friday nights warm-up tutorial. You know the one that had me sweating all over the dance floor without all the boom-boom-boom and lights? Second stop: The amphitheatre. If you don't know what it is, it is an architectural marvel in acoustics that allows people all the way in the back row to hear your whimpering during the workout. It is pretty incredible. Then a return trip on the bikes for a lunch and then a beach workout.

Step-ups!

Elle: Earlier that week Chad had us email him our height so the bikes were all ready for us when we got there. Sweet! The hybrid bikes had the biggest, cushiest seats I've ever placed my butt on, quite a departure from the bikes we own! Biking amongst the dunes, along the ocean was truly awesome - if you could have taken a snapshot of my face, I would have had the goofiest smile. I was in heaven. We did a 'warm-up' workout in the beach parking lot, then back on the bikes for a rolling ride through the beach dunes, it was fantastic.

Webb: After our warm-up, we headed to the amphitheatre for a workout I like to call "Sweet Mother Of All That Is Good And Clean On Earth what has Elle got me into?" First we did something Chad likes to call accumulators.  I like to call them "Chad is a Sadist." I'm not going to try to describe them. Here is all you need to know: we did a continually increasing series of structured exercises using body-weight, elasto-bands and plyometrics. Once we accumulated massive fatigue, we descended those same interval sets. [Insert expletive here.]

Breaking down the Push-up

Andy then led us through a workout that utilized the stadium style benches to focus more on form and function. The attention was primarily on how to perform movements and, perhaps most importantly, why we were doing them. For instance, we did push-ups where we broke down the movement and focused on joint movement and safety. Among the other exercises were single-leg squats and explosive  step-ups.

We also did some friendly group competition. Chad divided the group in half and sent us to either the left or right side of the amphitheatre. Each race was two minutes long. The first had us running to the top while snaking among the benches, then descending on our hands and feet in a prone position (spider-walking?) down the benches. The second race had us shuffle laterally, butts down/heads up, again winding our way down the rows, and then once again descending the benches on our hands and feet, only this time in a supine position (crab-walking?). In each race, our goal was to complete as many laps as possible.

Elle: After a pretty tough workout at the amphitheatre, it was back on the bikes to head into town. I'll be honest, I was glad that workout was over!

Is this how spiders walk?

We all rode back to the Crown and Anchor, just in time for lunch and another workout, this time on the beach. By now we were pretty sapped. But Chad and Andy had us working hard in the sand. And to top it off, we had a chorus of random people on the beach watching, laughing at us/cheering us on.

Webb:  The beach workout was ridiculous. Once again we started with our warm-up doing some dynamic movements to prepare our bodies for the work ahead. We added some other exercises like inchworms and moving laterally in push-up position with elasto-bands around our wrists. If that didn't make sense to you, it made less sense to me while I was doing it. After that we did some partner-based workouts and then the punishment came. We finished with a three exercise, three-round set with descending reps each round. I barely survived. I think I was the last one done.

Drop it!

Oh wait, we weren't done. We then did a short ab workout featuring sit-ups and planks. Yay! <grumble, grumble> And just when we thought we were finally done, we still weren't done. Chad had a little competition for us. He was going to buy drinks for the person who could hold a plank (in push-up position, not forearms) the longest. I was tapped. There was no way I was going to win drinks. In no time we were all up and going to our very own quiet places. I focused on my breathing and contracting different muscle groups to attempt to rest some while activating others. I was shaken from my focus by my shaking legs and arms. Several seconds later I crashed into the sand, apparently in third place a half-second before second place. I laid there for a moment with sand in my mouth knowing I was done, even if we weren't finished.

Elle: Finally all the Saturday workouts were done. We all went to our respective accomodations, showered, and met back at the C&A for dinner. Which was followed by drinking and dancing in Ptown. Perhaps too much. That's all I have to say about that...

SUNDAY: Just can't get enough

Webb: I can't say I slept very well Saturday night. Every time I rolled in my sleep the soreness in my lats, shoulders and chest would wake me for a moment. So much for a delayed onset. I awoke a little more than hour before our first workout. I forced myself out of bed to get some blood flowing. Everything hurt. Everything. With each small step around our room, I felt a little more flexible. Mentally, I didn't know where I was going to find the motivation for the next workout. Knowing there was a group of people waiting for us was my sole motivation.

Post Sunday morning circuit

We arrived at the C&A to see implements of self-torture ringing the dance floor. I think there were nine stations. My memory is more than a bit blurry on this experience. At each station we had two exercises to do for 90 seconds each, twice: A, B, A, B. After a quick warm-up, we each picked a station and awaited the go signal from Chad. It was a total body onslaught: burpees, push-ups, arnold presses, multi-planar lunges, speed skaters, bicep curls, squat jumps, split squat jumps, side squats with elasto-bads, medicine ball toss, foot fire, etc. ad nauseum.

Elle: The Sunday morning workout was b-r-u-t-a-l. I've never drank so much of my own sweat. But no rest for the wicked! After a short break, it was back out to the beach for another hour technical session with Andy on form with some kettle bell work thrown in.

Elle working on her posterior chain

Webb:  I couldn't believe we were headed back out to the beach for more work. Thankfully it was to be less of a workout and more of a technique session. Andy put on a clinic on muscle engagement. Once again we would do an exercise and then break it down into its parts, engaging each muscle group at the appropriate time. One of the exercises involved the squat-to-press movement. Using medicine balls, allowed us to feel the energy moving from glutes through the hip drive, up through the torso and shoulder to fire the ball up.

From there we moved on to a short introduction on kettlebells. I have used KBs in the past, without any instruction. I've had enough experience with strength training to understand the movement of KB swings and to know that I really needed proper instruction. Andy taught us the fundamentals by starting at the bottom and working us through the movement bit by bit. The fun part was when we began flinging the KBs up and out. Just like with the medicine balls, it was less about trying to fling them and more about driving with your glutes and simply letting go. If done correctly, the hip drive will do the work for you. I can't imagine a better way to end the weekend. Actually, yes I can. Later Andy and I hit the foam rollers. Ahhhhh ...

Elle:  It was especially good for me, considering my knee injury and form issues. The fun part was flinging the kettle bells onto the sand.

And then the 'Work Hard Play Hard' weekend workouts came to an end. I was glad, due to the intense soreness all over my body, but sad too. It had been so fun. We all ate lunch together by the pool, and sat around, chatting. The sun was out and oddly strong - we were in shorts. I even got a light sunburn! I give this weekend an A+.

Webb: I'm looking forward to another instalment of Public Body. Both Chad and Andy clearly know what they are doing and bring a lot of energy. There is no question their love of fitness is infectious, which is critical for Sunday mornings after they have kicked the crap out of you. And of course, this review would not be complete without showering our fellow Public Body people with compliments. All the guys were fantastic people. We all came with different levels of fitness and different goals and we all had a blast together. I think all the triathlon clubs should contact Chad about doing a fitness camp. It doesn't need to be triathlon-focused because you will get fit and it will bring your teams closer together.

Race Report: Buzzards Bay Sprint Triathlon

RACE REPORT: Buzzards Bay Sprint Triathlon

Swim: 1/3 mile ocean swim
Bike: 15 miles
Run: 3.1 miles

Elle: I have to admit, I wasn't crazy about doing this race. I hadn't been working out, and I was feeling burnt out, mentally and physically. But we signed up, so we were doing it. I had been watching the weather, now that fall is here, I was nervous about facing cold, possibly nasty weather conditions. But we woke up race morning, although a bit chilly, no clouds, no wind, and a sunny forecast. Alright then! We packed up the car and headed to Buzzard's Bay. Something that we've been doing is making race CD's to listen to on race morning, which I'm loving. The music gets me all revved up, and then I have good tunes going through my head for the bike and run. And I have to admit, this most recent mix I made is a gooooooood one.

Webb: I was ambivalent about doing this race. For two years I have been dealing with a nagging hip/glute injury. This is going to be my off-season of finally giving it the attention it deserves and I wanted to start right away. On the other hand, this is a beautiful course by our favorite race director. As a bonus, this was Elle's first race in 2009. It would be fun to compare her results.

Elle: As usual, Max Performance put on a well organized race, so check-in, body marking, and transition area were all organized and efficient. The sun was out and shining, and as I set up my transition area, the vibe all around was pretty chill and friendly, everyone chatting and happy to be there. And of course I ran into Beth, winner of races, and, more importantly, in my age group. It's always good to see Beth. Even though I know she's going to beat me handily, her smiling face and friendly personality always put me at ease. Her cool, calm demeanor totally belies her kick-ass race performance. But that's one of the things I like about triathletes, they're a friendly bunch.

Webb: We also ran into our friend Ed who was on his way to buy a race belt. I usually have two race belts and two pairs of goggles. I loaned him one my belts, cuz that's how we triathletes do. Like us, he had not done much since his last race, also a month ago, when he had a good day at the inaugural Ironman Mont Tremblant.

Elle: I had been on a swim low, but as we were standing in our waves, waiting to head into the water, I overheard a girl behind me saying how she was a swimmer, not a triathlete, and she was just here for the swim. I turned to her and said, "I'm the worst swimmer here, do you have any tips for me?"
She thought for a second and said, "Don't lift your head."
And I'm telling you, as I swam, I thought about that. A lot. And I think it really helped! I knew that, but to have her remind me right before the start seemed to make a difference. I didn't end up having a stellar swim, but I felt good about it, and that's a big plus for me.

Webb: Meanwhile, my swim times over the past three years have consistently improved. It was time for a new mindset, so I planned to swim hard. I positioned myself on the inside just after the first third. When the air horn sounded I jumped in behind a fast group and tried to stay in the slipstream. That worked until the right side of my goggle filled with water. I tried to ignore it but I kept drinking seawater when the waves would hit my face on the left side. Not being able to breathe to the right side compounded the problem. Twice I stopped to empty my goggles and twice I failed. This was the first time this had happened to me so I doubt I exhibited any clear thinking or grace in my attempts. At any rate, I swam through it and took in a bit more of the  salty Atlantic Ocean.

Elle: I'm always happy to be on the bike, because it means the swim is over. I passed a bunch of people, which I have to do in order to make up for my poor swim performance. And the bike was fun - a scenic route with a couple of hills thrown in.

Mouth-breather

Webb: I finally got to the shore and started working my wetsuit off. This season I have made significant reductions in my T1 times. Still, I felt like I was moving in slow motion. No matter what I was trying to do it felt slow and awkward. Once on the bike I started out and up the hill that greets you after exiting the transition area. Immediately I played leap frog with a guy in the 50-54 age group (damn him for passing me in the swim!).  I moved past him and moments later was passed by someone in my age-group. He was going too fast to try to keep up. But then a few minutes later I saw him up ahead; I was gaining ever-so-slowly on him. I picked up the pace a bit and kept my effort steady. In a couple of minutes I was on him and passing him. For the next mile or so, I could hear him behind me (far enough not to be drafting). He then overtook me and I fought to keep him in sight. We would replay this for the next 10 miles, pushing each other.

If T1 felt slow, T2 took an eternity. My shoes were difficult to get on because my calves gave every indication they were waiting for the slightest provocation to cramp up. Through all of this one thought was ever-present: Elle was still in front of me.

Elle had started in the swim wave before me and it was well possible that we would come out of the water at the same time. I didn't see her on the bike course but that did not mean much. I could have passed her in the water. Or she was kicking ass on the bike. Yep, she was kicking ass on the bike. As I jogged my bike to my rack I saw her bike and knew she was out on the run course.

Elle: I rode into T2 feeling good, and headed out for the run - the course out of transition starts with a pretty gnarly hill. And wouldn't you know it, at the top, I got a side stitch that pretty much spelled out 'no run PR today' for me. Oh well. I still passed a good amount of people, but not enough to make my way onto the podium. Which, by the way, was super competitive today! Even on a good day, I don't think I would have had a chance. Beth, who usually comes in first, even came in second. It was rough out there. But what can you do - it was a gorgeous day of racing, I had a good time and I was glad that we signed up for it. I had been feeling down about racing, and today's triathlon rejuvenated me. And even though we have a much needed recovery month ahead of us, I'm excited about next year's race plan.

Webb: The run course follows the bike route for 1.55 miles before it turns around and heads back. That hill you run out of transition? Yeah, you get that going back down into the finish. My strategy was to run the first  2.5 miles of the 5k hard and let the hill deliver me to the finish line.

The guy I had ridden with passed me going up the hill and left me behind. I let him go with hopes I would catch him like I did on the bike. Even though my plan was to run hard, there was no reason to blow up before I arrived at the top of the hill. By the time I reached the top the sun was out and on the cusp of being too warm for my tastes. My breathing became rapid and had no discernible rhythm. I calmed my breathing while keeping my pace fast and steady and then began looking for Elle on the other side of the road. I finally saw her near the 1.5 mile mark. She had maybe 400m on me.

After the turnaround I really let myself have it. I had no way of knowing what my pace was. It didn't matter. My effort was going to be the same no matter what. I needed to give the hardest I could for 1 more mile before the big descent. Every time I felt like slowing down I forced myself to run harder. Most times I would focus on my foot turnover. Other times I would think about driving my feet through the pavement. I knew if I could just get to that downhill, I could let gravity take over and fall down the hill if I needed.

Finally I made it and let myself go, thinking of the Road Runner's feet as I flew down the hill. Halfway down I began hurting badly. I didn't care. Sure I misjudged how easy the downhill would make it, but hey it was going to hurt no matter what.  I decided to get it over with and kicked it up a notch. At the bottom of the hill I took the right turn to the finishing arch and kicked again.

As soon as my timing chip was off, I was sitting down with my feet in a kiddie pool of ice cold water. I sat there for several minutes catching my breath, cooling down. Meanwhile, Elle was standing nearby looking as fresh as ever chatting it up with Jorge and some others. I looked and felt like death. She looked like a fitness model on a photo shoot.

Elle: Watching Webb try to collect himself after a super hard effort just reminded me of how I don't push hard enough. Although today I really couldn't, due to the cramping, but still, this is something I've struggled with for awhile. So in 2013 I need to make a change - I'm really going to start working on giving it all I've got, I need to look like Webb did today at the end of all of my races next year.

Webb: Overall I had a faster time in 2012 than I did in 2009, but not by much. My swim time was slower - that can't be only because of my goggle problems. My T1 time had a big improvement, as did my run. T2 was about the same. I was shocked to see that my bike time was only slightly faster. I had expectations of taking minutes off my 2009 time. Since I am undoubtedly a better cyclist than I was three years ago, I'm not going to read too much into it. I'm ready for the off-season.

Race Report: Marsh Post Marathon (5.2 miles)

Webb: It has been a little more than a month since Timberman 70.3. A month of mostly eating, drinking, sleeping, working and not much exercise. This was our time to be a little lazy and try to accomplish some deep recovery. That was the plan anyway. And we nearly made it too, if it hadn't been for those meddling kids who cajoled us into two more races.

Elle: Jorge Martinez of E3 Training Solutions and BTT convinced me we should do the Max Performance Buzzard Bay Sprint Tri (a separate race report). Even though we did take it easy, we also made sure to fit in some workouts, like bike-hill-repeats up Arlington Heights and a Walden Pond swim with BTT followed by a bike workout on the Charlie Baker TT route. But we worked out sparingly. I could almost feel my fitness slipping away.

Webb: About the same time, our friend Craig told us about a race he was timing/directing for his run group. Even though I was well into Sloth and Gluttony, I agreed. Here is the thing: Craig cares about racing. The little things that annoy you at a race probably drive him insane. So even though this was to be an informal gathering of runners, I knew the distance would be accurate and timing done right. I've really wanted to do one of his races and with no real priorities out there it wasn't going to interfere with the overall training plan.

RACE REPORT: Marsh Post 5.2 Mile Road Race

Webb: As I understand it, Craig and a bunch of his usual crew have a 2.6 mile looped course they run regularly. He/They got in their minds that it would be cool to run it as a marathon (10-laps plus 285 yards). It would also allow people to run other distances. There were six races: 2 loops (5.2 miles), 3 loops (7.8 miles), 4 loops (10.4 miles), half-marathon (13.1 miles), 7 loops (18.2 miles) and the marathon (26.2 miles). We all started at the same time, so the half-marathon group was .1 miles behind us and the marathoners another .1 miles behind them.

Elle: We woke up to a cloudy, dreary morning, and I have to admit, I wasn't super psyched about hauling my slower and slightly heavier butt out of bed. But we wanted to support Craig, so we got our butts in gear and headed out to Cambridge. When we got to the 'race site' we saw that is was going to be a fairly small affair, just a handful of runners out for the fun of it. Craig has a couple of tables set up with nourishment - snacks & drinks, and a big race clock. People slowly showed up, and before too long, it was time to start the race. Craig led the marathoners out to their start line, the half-marathoners to theirs, and so on.

Running Craig's race in Cambridge

Webb: We stepped to the line to await Craig's command. I wasn't feeling great but I wasn't feeling terrible either. Mostly, I was unsettled by the half-marathoners and marathoners starting behind us. I definitely felt like the rabbit that leads out greyhounds. At the signal I took off way too fast. I kept telling myself to calm down and ease into the pace. Then I would tell myself, "don't get caught until the 1-mile mark," then it became the 1.5-mile mark, etc. After my first lap I still had not been caught by anyone. This motivated me to keep the gas pedal down. The odds simply were not in my favor not to get caught. I pushed on until somewhere between the 3 and 3.5 mile mark. I had given into the idea these guys would catch me so I dialed it back to collect myself for a final push in the last mile. At the 4-mile mark I was still alone out front.

Elle: I was surprised how fast Webb started out of the gate, and I struggled to keep up with him. I was definitely feeling the loss of fitness! But I trailed him for most of the race and was able to keep him close enough.

Webb: This was definitely a new experience for me. Once again TheSufferfest.com came to me: "Everybody Hurts." I dug into my suitcase of pain and crossed the finish line without being caught. Success! I looked back to see where Elle and others were. The top marathon men were not far behind me. I think if it had been a 5.3-mile race they would have caught me.

Winning in our age group and setting
course records is easy when you're
the only one in the category...

Elle: About a quarter of a mile from the finish Webb got away from me, and the top 2 marathoners passed me. Holy crap, they're fast! I just didn't have it today. But I felt that I got a good workout in, and I pushed it. Just not hard enough.

Webb: Um, it was hard enough to win first place and set a course record.

Elle: Yeah, because we were the only ones racing in the first year it was held.

Webb: I had a great time. From now on, this is how I want to race. First, the entire crew, the competitors, non-running runners, their friends and families, all of them, were just a great group of people. They set up a table at the finish that allowed those runners doing the longer distances to have special needs items available. Plus, there was a ton of extra food that they offered to all the Bostonians and Cantabrigians who were out running that day. Second, I ran much harder than I would have predicted. There was something about the small size of the field and the informal nature that motivated me to run hard. It seemed to have more value. And the trophies prove it.

Race Report: 2012 Timberman 1/2 Ironman!

-->FRIDAY
The Day Before the Day Before

Webb: We both took Friday off from work so we could drive up the day before the day before. That would allow us to drive up early and maybe beat the traffic, then have all of Saturday to fix or buy our way out of situations and to shake out traffic weary legs. We collected our things, prepped the bikes, including my ERC race wheels, packed the car and headed to The Gateway to Maine.

Elle: Either we left late or there is never a good time to beat the mad traffic on the way up to Gilford, New Hampster. Luckily we happened upon a radio station that was playing Moving Pictures, that’s right, back-to-back-to-back Rush.

Webb: It was like the radio waves knew we were headed toward Canada. I kind of expected to hear blocks of Bare Naked Ladies, The Tragically Hip and Triumph too. And yes, Red Barchetta rocks, even when you are in crawling traffic.

Elle: We checked into the Lighthouse Inn B&B, which also has some nice cabins right by the water closer to the race site. The cabins have little kitchen areas with a small fridge, microwave and toaster, so we could eat our normal pre-race meals. After we unpacked the car, we went out to Gunstock and registered – I got a nice number, 600. Not so lucky, the guy behind me in line had race number 666. We walked around the ‘athletes village’ for a bit and looked at stuff to buy. I ended up grabbing a bag of Gu Chomps, plus some 'Hoo Ha Glide', which I've been meaning to get for awhile. I'd heard good things about it, and, I KNOW you're not supposed to do anything new on race day, but I just had to try it.

Webb: My bib number was #654. With a number like that, one might see it as a reminder to negative split each discipline. Or one might not. Anyway, viewing the multitude of items WTC dreamed up to stamp with its trademark worked up our appetites. We found a place to have dinner right on the lake. The food was ... um ... the view was great!  Then it was back to the cabin for some precious sleep. Sleep the night-before-the-night-before is critical to race success. I don't know why. Maybe it is because a lot of people are unable to sleep the night before a race?

SATURDAY
The Day Before

Webb: Ahhhhh sleeping in is the best. Elle knows I love diners so she found the Union Diner, a 50’s-style diner. We sat at the bar and I enjoyed my typical fare of pancakes. I was disappointed they did not have real maple syrup. It still kind of hurts me a little to be that near Vermont and Canada and not have the real thing. The pancakes were good otherwise and met their purpose as a carb-rich meal 24-36 hours before the race.

Elle: After breakfast it was back to the cabin for our “shake out” bike and run brick and a cool dip in the pool. Then it was time to head to Ellacoya State Park - location of the Timberman race - to rack our bikes in transition area for the mandatory bike check-in. While we were there we ran into some of our St. Croix friends, Sam & Hana. (Hana would end up qualifying for the 70.3 Championship in Las Vegas!) It's always so fun to be around all of the other athletes at races, checking out all the bikes, looking out for people you know, meeting new people, there's lots of energy in the air, it's really exciting.

Racking the Bike the Day Before

Webb: Checking in your bike the night before is weird. I racked my bike in the spot labeled #654. Looked at it for a few seconds and thought, "Well, I guess that's that." Normally I spend the next 30 minutes getting ready. On this night, I just racked my bike and went on my way. Of course, Elle was over in the next row talking to about 100 people.

Elle: We went back to the ‘athletes village’ at Gunstock to buy some gear, and ran into Nate & family. (Nate would go onto to be the top amateur and 8th overall. Whoa, we have some fast friends.) Afterwards we had a very early dinner at local watering hole, Patrick’s Pub – yum. But I could have done without the 1987 music soundtrack.

We headed back to the cabin to pack up everything we could – race bag, morning bag, everything we didn’t need that night or in the morning was packed up and put in the car in anticipation of our 3am wake-up and 4am departure.

SUNDAY
Race Day!

Webb: We had been warned that while the parking lot would open at 4:00AM, it would surely be full by 5:00AM, if not much sooner. We chose to go for the parking rather than sleep another hour. We planned to be on the road by 4:00AM for the 15 minute drive. Not surprisingly I did not sleep well. I wasn't anxious. I just don't do 9:00PM bedtimes. I was committed to resting even if I could not sleep. Eventually the 3:00AM alarm went off. I felt fairly well rested. I made my breakfast and pulled together my last minute things.

(Not pictured: Wetsuit)

Elle: It was tough getting up at 3am, no lie. But I knew we had to get up and get going if we wanted to get a parking spot at the park. So the alarm went off and we got up. And to my real amazement, we actually had breakfast, packed up our final things, and were on the road by 4am, just like we planned! That never happens! We got to the park, and there wasn't the line that we'd been told about. Apparently we got there just before things started to back up. Another plus! Things were going well so far! We parked and then reclined the seats to sleep for a bit before heading to transition area.

Webb: Isn't it cute how she implies "we" slept for a bit? I closed my eyes and rested for 45:00 while Sleepy McSleeperson drifted off into a cozy dreamland. At 5:10 I had enough "sleeping" and woke Elle to go set up our transition areas.

Elle: I kept waiting for the pre-race jitters to set in. I usually start getting nervous in transition while I'm setting everything up, but I just didn't. Which was weird. But I figured, it will come. But it didn't. I felt oddly calm. Ok then. On to the swim start!

Lake Winnipesaukee at Dawn

THE SWIM
1.2 miles (2km) in Lake Winnipesaukee
Elle's Wave: 7:20AM
Webb's Wave: 7:25AM

Webb: The swim course was a simple rectangle. Swim straight out, turn east (right) at the big red buoy, swim straight to the next big red buoy, turn right again and swim to shore. Nothing to it as long as you keep the buoys on your right.

Elle: I knew the lake was shallow, but I didn't really know what to do about it. As we all watched the pros head out, they honestly looked like a school of dolphins, and I remembered watching a video online some time ago about shallow swim starts. I couldn't believe I remembered, but when I got out there, inspired by the pros, I dug my feet in the sand and dolphin dived my way to water deep enough to swim in.

Exiting the swim!

And it worked! But that's when the swim business went down. Bodies swimming over bodies, mass chaos, I got punched in the mouth, total insanity. I tried to remain calm, but I had to keep stopping because there were so many people, I couldn't even get a full swim stroke in. At one point the guys in the next wave were catching up. And I swore Webb swam right by me, but I can't be positive. Anyway, I did my best to just get through the swim, and before I knew it, I was out of the water.

Webb: My wave departed at 7:25AM, or 25:00 after the pro men began the race. (By the way, firing a cannon to start the pro fields is unnerving.) My wave was split in half alphabetically. I don't know if any other division had quite as many competitors. I noticed from watching the other waves that the shallow start would add about a minute of walking. It was useless to even attempt dolphin diving. It would have been more like: 1- Dolphin dive. 2- Stand up. 3- Wait. 4- Repeat steps 1-3. I'm simply not that a good a swimmer to push up front and do that. So I walked while guys splashed all around me.

Lookin' good!

Once the pack thinned out enough, I dove in and started slipping behind one swimmer after another methodically moving my way through the field. With six waves ahead of our group, the water was getting a little rough and it was difficult to sight the buoys. I just kept moving with the pack until I became a little frustrated. I saw a gap, shot into it and swam in clean water for several strokes. I sighted a few times and still couldn't see the buoy. This wasn't unusual so I kept swimming. I had a gnawing feeling things weren't right. I stopped and looked around - all the way around. Over my left shoulder I found the buoy with all the rest of the swimmers. D'oh! I had swum due east towards the middle of the rectangle. I did a 18o and swam my way back into the mass of flailing arms and legs. Later on the homestretch of the swim I found myself drifting eastward again. What is wrong with me? I don't like the sun that much. I do not want to go to there.

Coming out of the water I felt good. Even though I had no idea what my split was, I had a lot of energy running into T1. I left my sun-wandering ways behind in the water and headed for the wetsuit strippers. YES! Wetsuit strippers! There were a few athletes standing while volunteers pulled and tugged at the ankles of their wetsuits. I demonstratively singled-out a volunteer and flopped down on my back. He looked at me like I was crazy. I told him, "Trust me this will be easier." In one fluid motion he whipped the wetsuit right off me. Of that group, I was the last one in and the first one out. Screw grace and elegance, this was a race.

THE BIKE
56 miles (90km)

On the Cervélo

Webb: We had done this course twice before on practice runs. I knew the major hills were within the first 11 or so miles. That meant the middle 34 miles is the place to find speed. I told myself to take it easy and save the legs for the return trip and, of course, that wee bit of running at the end.

Adrenaline was coursing through my veins. I wish my talent equalled my love of cycling. Even with a constant internal reminder to slow down, I was enjoying taking down the hills that gave me some fits in training. That was until the last and most serious climb around mile 11 when I dropped my chain. Arrgggghhh. I pulled over, reached down and slipped it onto the inner chainring. I then stood there on the side of the road waiting for a break to re-enter the fray. Moments later I was bombing down the descent.

Timberman 70.3 Bike Leg Profile

The descent took us to the highway and the fast middle section. It is basically flat, with some negligible rollers. I was feeling great, which you know is a trap. I would back off a little and then look down to see my HR elevating again. I'm convinced the hardest part of long course racing is restraint.  I think the key is to make your slow speed faster than your peers.

After the turnaround, the adrenaline had totally dissipated. I still felt good. My pace had calmed down and I was just cruising along, with a bunch of riders. It was like they were having a draft fest. I kept trying to pass people so I wouldn't be drafting, only to have them pass me back. For the first time I understood what the pros meant about setting a pace and taking turns working up front. Up to that point, such draft-legal cycling talk was incomprehensible to me. We're triathletes; we don't work together on the bike. It is true though, you can pace each other in those situations without actually drafting. During one of these moments we were getting bunched up, so I shifted with the idea to pass some people and get into the gap up the road. All of sudden SRAM! Dropped chain #2.

Once again I stood on the side of the road with grease-covered fingers watching an endless pace line fly by me. I'm not going to lie. There was a time or two I thought about inserting myself into the road to watch them all fall like dominoes as the first rider hit the brakes. C'mon people! I know it is crowded out there. At least make an effort not to draft blatantly.

Back on the road, I found some space and pedaled smoothly preparing myself mentally and physically for the last 11 miles of hills. That Yukan Half-Marathon was still ever-present in my thoughts. Soon enough I was climbing the first big hill and a pattern was set into a motion. I would pace easily up a hill and 10 or so people would pass me. On the descents, I would tuck my ears back and fly by them. A quick side note to the trepidatious triathletes: I understand that descending can get a little frightening; however, there comes a point when your fear becomes dangerous to you and everyone else around you. Ride with confidence, even if you have to fake it. It will be safer for everyone.

Finally, I was on the last climb about 1.5 miles from the transition area. I shifted to an easier gear to try to keep my cadence high when, you guessed it, Dropped Chain #3. I cursed. Loudly. That's a penalty if a race marshall hears you. Anyway, once again, I have the chain back on in about five seconds and wait another 20 to 30 seconds for a break in the action. Maybe it wasn't that long. It sure felt that way. I finally get back in the game and I hear someone shout, "On your left ... wait ... nevermind," as she trailed behind me. I was biking angry at this point. And that's when it happened. Heading into the final descent to the transition area, I shifted the chain right off the big chainring for my 4th and final Dropped Chain. I was maybe a mile away. <heavy sigh>

Pacing, pacing....

Elle: While Webb was having an exciting bike leg, I was actually doing a pretty good job of pacing, not getting too excited and going out too hard, as I've been warned not to do. It was tough to watch all of those bikes pass me, but every time, I just thought, "Yeah, I'll see you on the run after you've blown up from going too hard on the bike!"I don't know if I actually did pass those people on the run, but it made me feel better to think that I would.

Meanwhile, after about 15 miles I realized I had to use the bathroom. Ugh. I really didn't want to stop, so I tried what the pros do, which is... they pee on the bike. Whatever, I was already going to be sweaty and gross, might as well give it a try. So I tried. And tried. I just couldn't make it happen! After the turn around I realized that I wasn't going to be able to have a strong finish up the final hills like this. So I decided to bite the bullet, and stop at an aid station. My tri suit isn't the easiest thing to pull off and on, so I lost some precious time there. I decided to fill up my aero water bottle, and ended up somehow dislodging the top, which caused a loud rattling for the remainder of the bike course. It was so loud, that as I approached other triathletes, they turned and gave me a funny look. So I had to keep yelling, "Water bottle malfunction!"

THE RUN
13.1 miles (21km)

Putting another 70.3 in the books

Webb: My goal was to run the 13.1 in under two hours, like, 1:59:59. I've already said enough about how the Yukan Half kicked my arse. More importantly, memories of my 13.1 in St Croix lingered uneasily in mind. On that day, I ran-walked a 2:25. Generally speaking, I was optimistic I could do this whole race in about 6 hours. On paper I should be able to finish a fairly challenging 70.3 in under 5:45. The last five weeks were torture though as I spent a lot of time at work and missed some key peak-period workouts. Plus, I may have written our training plan one month too long. I decided to take the pressure off and just enjoy my time out there.

With no real goal times, I took my sweet time in T2. I put on some socks, which was new for me. Normally I don't wear socks because it just takes too long. Lately though, I have developed blood blisters on the ends of my toes after long runs. I also took extra time to stretch my hamstrings, have a gel and some water. I then jogged to the Run Out arch.

Passing under the arch I saw the official clock up ahead. It read 4:09. Not bad was my initial thought. If I run this in two hours I'll have a 6:09 finish. Then I started talking and gesticulating to myself as I ran down the chute to the road: Wait. That is the official clock, which must be based on the men's pro start. That means I can deduct 20 minutes. I am 11 minutes ahead of schedule. Is that right? Why is math so hard sometimes? Ok ok ok ok ok I can now run this thing in 2:10 and still break six hours. (Some of you are thinking, "Wait. What?" Yeah, I know. Hold that thought.) That initial high gave me a surge of energy that pushed my pace to 8:00/mile. Tooooo fast. Right away I was into my two-hour shuffle.

One of my regrets from the steamy, miserable run in STX was my under-utilization of the cold sponges. This time around I made a point to wear my running hat for the sole purpose of putting ice-cold sponges under it. That made a huge difference. Even though it was not as hot as STX it was still pretty damn warm and those sponges brought serious relief. I also did a better job of on-the-run nutrition. I drank often and had a couple of gels. The real treat was around mile two and eight. There was a huge pile of snow! O the wonders of New Hampshire in August. A high school volunteer handed me a snowball on my first pass. I ran with it for about a mile switching it between hands and holding it to my wrists.

As I was finishing the first loop, I allowed myself to look at my watch. I came in under an hour. Excellent. I could now run the second loop in 1:10 and still finish under 6 hours. I was feeling confident as I came around the loop to the next aid station. It appeared to be manned by mostly pre-teens. I yelled out: "Can someone just throw water at me?" Within two seconds about six of those kids simultaneously threw cups of water on me, hitting me from waist to eye-level. They couldn't have done a better job if they had practiced.

70.3 is fun!

Elle: That. is. awesome.

Webb: Coming up to mile seven a thought occurred to me: Elle started at 7:20, not me; I started at 7:25. Wait a minute, that means I am on pace to finish in 5:45. That apparently mattered to me. Now I cared. And that is when Mother Nature said, "Sloooooooow down." My legs felt so heavy as I trudged up one of the smaller hills. Now I had something to run for and I was not going to buckle. I convinced myself to maintain a steady pace and then give the last 5k everything I had. Each successive hill in the warm sun felt like it was dealing a blow. I made the final turnaround and braced myself for the stretch.

Right at mile 10 the road pitched up a bit as the course rejoins the highway. This is where I was to make my move. Wouldn't you know it, some volunteer was playing Gonna Fly Now. As clichéd as it was, it gave me chills as I ran up that hill. The next three miles were rotten. I would run hard, catch myself backing off, tell myself, "Everybody Hurts," then run hard again. At some point I looked at my watch and figured it was mathematically impossible for me to make it in 5:45.  I hung in there and ran the last mile as hard as I could. Final run split: 2:01:36.

Elle: Meanwhile, I was ecstatic to see the 'Bike In' arch, I was so ready to be off the bike! And into T2 I went. For sprint and Olympic distance races I speed in and out of transition in about a minute. For my first 1/2 IM, I took my time. Like Webb, I put on socks, which I don't usually do, and made sure to Body Glide up my feet and toes. I had some Gu Chomps, took a drink. Looked around, and decided it was time to go. I can't tell you how happy I was to be on the run. It meant that the swim and bike were over! It meant that I was actually going to finish this thing! I started the run leg in a great mood - I was really enjoying this race.

The run course was thick with spectators, which made things fun. People were excited and supportive. One wonderful woman was standing out in her driveway holding a hose, spraying cool water on whoever wanted it, which I did. Another house had a table out front with a big sign, "PANCAKES & BACON", and sure enough, there was a plate of bacon and a plate of pancakes! I saw one guy grab one of the pancakes, but he left the bacon.

Webb: I totally saw a guy stop and carefully select a strip of bacon.

You are a Timberwoman!

Elle: I knew Webb was on the course somewhere, so I was keeping my eyes peeled on the other side of the road - I didn't want to miss him. Finally, I saw Webb off in the distance, running towards me. It was so great to see him. As we passed each other, we went for the hand slap, but, doh! We missed! [Webb: To be fair, I missed.] I felt a little bit like an idiot. This was a 2-loop course, so that meant that we'd see each other two more times. So the next time, I made sure we didn't miss - I locked in Webb's gaze, and we did a successful hand slap. Yeah, we're dorks. The third time we passed I just said, "Hey, I thought this was supposed to be hard!" I actually think that annoyed one of the runners near me. But honestly, I was feeling really good at that point. It wasn't until mile 9 that I started to hurt a bit. From then on out it was a bit of a struggle, so I stopped occasionally at the aid stations for water and/or Gatorade. And unfortunately had to slow down a bit. But I was still having a good time. When I finally turned the corner and started down the finishing chute, I felt like a million bucks. I did it! I had just finished a 1/2 Ironman! And there was Webb, waiting for me.

Webb: Elle and I saw each three times on the run. Each time she closed on me. After I crossed the finish line, I drank a bottle of water and then stared down the finishing chute. And then there she was, beaming her smile amongst the pain and suffering that was the rest of us. It is kind of disgusting how little she shows her effort.


FINAL STATS

Elle:
Swim- 46:15 (2:23/100m)
T1- 3:05
Bike- 3:16:39 (17.1 mph)
T2- 3:46
Run- 1:58:23 (9:02/mile)
Total- 6:08:08
Age Group: 39/98
Overall: 802/1699


Webb:
Swim- 37:37 (1:56/100m)
T1- 2:36
Bike- 3:01:13 (18.5 mph)
T2- 3:34
Run - 2:01:36 (9:16/mile)
Total- 5:46:36
Age Group: 84/230
Overall: 548/1699

Track Us at Timberman 70.3

Follow us live at Ironman Live athlete tracker: http://www.ironmanlive.com/tracking.php?race=timberman70.3&year=2012

General race info can be found here:  http://ironman.com/news/#axzz23wEvHPaS
If the Ironman Live link does not work, check the general info page in the upper right for a link for Live Race Coverage.

All you need are our bib numbers:

Elle: 600
Webb: 654

Elle's swim wave begins at 7:20AM EST/4:20AM PST (11:20 GMT)
Webb's swim wave begins at 7:25AM

If either of us breaks 6 hours, it will be a fantastic day. That means you West Coasters can track our finish after breakfast.

Heading up to Timberman!

Public Body workout in the park

Elle: The last 2 weeks included some easy workouts, some tougher workouts, and a lot of resting and tapering. Public Body was fun, as always, and we got in a good SEAC track workout (with post-run meal at Anchovies). We did a 3-hour easy bike ride in and around Weston (I verped my way through the second half of that one!). I think we are both on our way to getting a little burned out (or is it burnt out?). Either way, we are ready for this race season to come to a triumphant close.

We are currently packing up and preparing to make our way up to Gilford, New Hampshire, site of the Timberman Half Ironman. Webb is making final bike tweaks, the race bags are packed. I guess there's nothing left to do now but race our hearts out and hope for the best!