Fly By Night Race Report

Well I haven't updated in a long time. I've been pretty busy, we'll just leave it at that. I did, however, have a chance to head down to Watkins Glen to rock the racetrack for Fly by Night. Amanda got some great photos so I'll share some of them here. Also, my buddy from water polo John Liobe ran his first du and did awesome! I think he's going to have a solid day at Musselman in a little over a month. John Ghidiu also gets a mention here for doing awesome! He'll be rocking IMLP with me. I should also mention my fellow Train-This-ers who all had great races Rich Adams, Kristin Mullaly (who you can should check out at her blog) and Donna H. Now onto my day:

Tried to take it easy all day. Amanda and I headed to my parent's house at about noon, where I spent about an hour or so double checking all of my gear, and making sure my race wheels were ready to go. We left from canandaigua at about 3:30ish. The drive went pretty well, I could feel my nerves growing as we got closer. I finally settled down into a bit of a zen state when we rolled down the hill into the Glen. Got to the track, begrudgingly paid our $5 per person, and parked. I headed to the registration tent and found Mary and Luc nearby. We chatted, Luc is freakin awesome, and seriously like the most polite 10 year old kid I've ever met. As I chatted with Mary, she told me she was excited to see how I stacked up against Curt, I took this as a hint that I should keep an eye on him. As I went over to register, Amanda stayed with them and quickly became friends with Luc.

I headed back to the car, got my gear all set, and headed over to the track to wait for transition to open. I ended up with a spot right near the timing/announcing tent, so Mary had a front row seat to my transitions, talk about pressure! I took a quick/easy lap of the track, just to check everything out, and get the course in my head. It was a bit windy for the deep wheels I was running, but I found I was okay if I just stayed strong. Got back to transition, and found that my spot had been taken. Someone put their bike right over my shoes and visor, did they not see them? Did they think they were just free shoes? I don't know, but when I got back, some people helped my push the bikes around me down a bit so I could have my spot back. This is a big deal for me, because I have a hard enough time finding my transition area when I know exactly where it is, the last thing I need to do is move it at the last minute. The pre-race announcement consisted of informing us that the run course was different, I didn't care too much I just follow the people in front of me. Maybe someday when I'm Travis Kuhl, I'll need to worry about stuff like that. Not yet though.

I lined up, and found John Liobe near the start. I talked him through a bit of a race plan, as he was pretty nervous. Before I knew it it was 5 minutes to go, then 2 minutes, then time to go! I started off quick, I wanted to find Curt quickly, and stay near him and see where that got me. I'm glad that I did this. I started a bit faster than I really wanted to, but before long we were heading through a tunnel only wide enough for one person at a time. I'm glad I made it there in the front, and didn't get stuck as the main pack came in. I eventually settled in on Curt's shoulder and rolled through the first run strong.

Run 1: 12:41

Transition I tried to go smooth and quick. Visor off, helmet on. Shoes off, bike shoes on. Off I go to the mount line. My bike shoes didn't want to clip in here, so I built up some momentum without them clipped in. Clipped in and rolled off.

T1: 0:43

Felt strong on the bike. I started picking off some of the quicker runners, especially on the first climb. Gained some more ground heading up the long climb of the back straight, and picked off Curt. Rolled on through the descent, and picked off more riders on the other climbs. Rolled through lap one feeling great, not overly pushing, but staying strong. Headed by transition, and headed back out for lap two. Headed up the first climb and..... lost my chain. Yay! Curt rolled by and said something encouraging or compassionate, I can't quite remember. I got it back on, and was on my way again before long, focused on staying calm and not panicking. Got back on and rolling again, with about 30 seconds lost total. Focused on trying to stay calm, but strong, and reel in the guys I lost. I saw Curt up ahead on the back straight and started reeling in the group he was with. Through the back straight, descent, then big climb. Towards the top, I caught and passed Curt, he gave me some encouragement, and I focused on trying to put as much time into him on the bike as I could. I saw how strong he was on the first run, and he had me scared.

Bike 1: 27:54

Headed through transition smoothly again. I loved the shout outs I got from Mary every time she saw me. Got my running shoes and visor on, and headed off. Yelled to Mary as I went "Dropped my damn chain"

T2: 0:41

Through transition, Mary announced Curt was following me by about 30 seconds. I focused on keeping as much of that as I could through this run leg. I think I took in a little too much fluids on the bike. I went for half a bottle per bike leg, but I don't think I had quite enough time to absorb all that much. As such, my stomach did not like this run all that much. I focused on settling into a strong pace, without pushing the limits too much. I tried to find the line and toe it as close as I could, without upsetting the system. I think it worked out okay. I came back into transition a little in front of Curt.

Run 2: 13:23

Again, nice and smoothly through transition. No problems clipping in this time. It was time to fly!

T3: 0:47

I saw on my first bike leg that I had the ability to put some time into my opponents, especially on the climbs. I tried to use this to my advantage, I think it worked out pretty well. My pace was a little slower than the first bike, but I felt strong, gained some time on the guys I recognized were near me heading into the last run. I felt like I put some good time into Curt, and was hoping it was going to be enough to hold him off on the last run, especially how my stomach was feeling on the earlier run.

Bike 2: 28:13

Final transition, had to make it quick, and roll on out for the finish! I knew that at any second I would hear Mary announcing Curt on his way into transition. I ran out praying that I could hold on to what I had so far, and knew that I was going to have to make myself hurt.

T4: 0:32

Make myself hurt is what I did. Unfortunately, it didn't take much to do that. My stomach was in revolt. I never threw up, but I had trouble pushing the pace I wanted. As I rolled out of transition and up a bit of a knoll overlooking the track I thought I saw Curt about to roll into transition. I felt good about the lead I had on him, and was confident I could hold onto it, even if it might be close. I was passed a few times, and tried to hang onto the shoulder of a guy I had battled with a bit on the bike. I couldn't hold onto him though, and had to let him slip. I gave it everything I could to bring it home, and hold off the guys that I knew were coming up not too far behind me. Up over the ramp, and around the tight turn, then down the finishing chute. I felt great about my performance. It wasn't without it's flaws, but how often does everything go the way you plan it? I made do with what I had, and I think I did pretty damn well.

Run 3: 13:36


I headed over to where my family was sitting, which was also next to where Mary was announcing from. She told me she was really happy with my performance, that made me feel better about the mistakes. We waited for Curt to come through. It didn't happen for a while, I started to worry if something had happened to him or something. Turns out that he inadvertently took an extra lap on the bike. We probably coud have figured that out earlier, if we had seen this picture:

Yes that would be Curt coming into transition, as I was coming into the finish chute. I think that Mary was focused on me finishing, and we missed him heading through. I feel bad, last year I very nearly took an extra bike lap as well. I barely caught the turn into pit row at the last second, so I know how easy it is to make that mistake on that track.

It was then time for a bit of a cookout. My parents brought hot dogs and we relaxed some and ate. My stomach was a bit queasy and I didn't eat too much. Had my recovery drink, and some cold water. Also a cupcake. I never feel so bad that I can't go for a cupcake. After a while, I wandered back to the track to check out the results. I thought that I had done pretty well, and the results solidified that. 9th overall. 3rd age group. Then I looked up the list a little bit. The two guys in front of me were also my age. 7 more seconds, and I would had 2nd. 30 more and I would've had 1st. It was then I thought back to that first bike leg, and that damn chain. Oh well. It was still another great performance and result for me. I can't wait to get back out there next week at Keuka. I'm also excited that the lake seems to be warming up. I don't so much like it when my best discipline gets cut because people don't like to swim in the cold! I had enough winter swim practices in high school when the pool heater had broken to handle some chilly water. I swam yesterday morning and today at Kershaw. I felt good in the water. I think I can do well next week! Then it's on to my final training block before IMLP. Things are ramping up.

Also training camp in just a few weeks! That's going to be a good time!

55 days (HOLY CRAP!) to IMLP!

Flower City Challenge Race Reports

River Challenge Du:

Woke up a bit before 5am, too excited to sleep anymore. Went out and chilled in the living room for a while before preparing the breakfast prescribed by Mary. The protein-banana-applesauce smoothie. Drank most of that, and some perform. Double checked that I had everything ready to go. (Forgot recovery drink, had to stop at Hess on the way to the race for some chocolate milk) Headed for GVP at about 6:10, arrived at 6:20, including the aforementioned stop. Ate a bit, set up my transition area, and proceeded yet again to try to relax. Mosied around with Amanda for a while, before taking my gel at 20 minutes to go, and heading for a short easy warm-up. With about 5ish minutes to start, I got to the start line, found Tim, and chatted a little. He informed me that he hadn't been feeling great lately. I was sure he'd be fine. Lined up next to Mike Hoffman, and Tim, and off went the gun. Started strong, I felt great.

As per the plan, I went out strong, but felt I could go faster. The few times I could see the field ahead I guessed I was around 15th. I was happy there. I wasn't pushing too hard, and knew I could make a move later if I had to. I cruised on into T1 feeling awesome. Visor off, helmet on. Shoes off, grab bike, run, mount.

Run 0: 20:52
T1: 0:40

Got on the bike, slipped my feet into my shoes, and got those pedals spinning. I felt strong on the bike, I passed a few on the few fairly small climbs there were. Cruised down east river, made the turn on Erie Station, and things started to go a bit downhill. My breakfast smoothie wasn't sitting so well anymore. Around mile 11 I threw up a little bit, and kept pedaling. The climb up to the intersection with Scottsville Rd wasn't too bad, and I was looking forward to a tailwind on the way back. The wind's pretty much always from the south, right? Not this day! I turned onto Scottsvile, and into a headwind. It wasn't much, but the way I was feeling, I didn't need to have to put in any extra effort. I headed back towards the park, taking small sips of my perform every so often, hoping my stomach would settle down a bit. No such luck. Threw up a few more times heading up Scottsville. I was able to keep my effort up, but I did not feel good. I turned onto Elmwood, slipped my feet out of my shoes, and headed into transition. Went okay, my fingers were just chilly enough, and my fine motor skills just depleted enough for me to have a heck of a time getting my shoes on. Grabbed my visor, and headed out.

Bike: 56:33
T2: 1:03

Headed back out for the shortened second loop. They cut out about 0.4 miles, to help out those who had planned to paddle, but now had to run. My stomach was in knots. I pushed as best I could with how I was feeling. I threw up two more times in the first mile or so. Didn't stop though. Definitely was time to HTFU. It wasn't too bad, just a little bit of upset stomach. I passed tow on the last run, and was caught by one. So I was pretty happy. I came through the line to Amanda's cheers. Still felt pretty sick, but that was mostly replaced with relief. I was happy about being able to push through the issues I came across, and happy with my time. The field was pretty quick, and I fared well.

Overall Time: 1:37:39
14th OA, 2nd AG

Me and my little flower award!


Then time to head home, and take a good nap, and recover for the half today!



Flower City Half Marathon:

Up again at 5. Felt good considering the day before. I ate my much smaller portioned breakfast, and felt much better than yesterday! I sat and relaxed for a bit, and thought about the race ahead. The plan had been to make a race day decision. I had talked with Mary Thursday night about what we both though I could do for this race. It all depended on how I had recovered from Saturday though. We were both certain that I was capable of a 1:30 half, the question was: could I do it after racing the day before? I spent the morning basically analyzing how I felt every step I took. I was a bit sore, but that was to be expected. I had a couple of options, I could line up with the 1:30 pace group, if was was feeling good. Or I could start out at a 7:15ish pace, feel it out for a few miles, then go if I wanted. Amanda and I headed downtown at about 6:20. We arrived at 6:30, parked, and headed to the Blue Cross Arena. We found Alexa, Solveig, and Ken, and chatted for a bit. Then we jogged back to the car to discard our warm-ups, and get our gels in. My mom called, and let us know that she was there, and looking for us. I told her to sit tight, and we started to head back to the start area. We got to the parking lot entrance, and found Alexa trying to get her garmin to find signal. Then the three of us headed out for a short warm-up. Alexa asked why I was carrying my phone still, and if I planned on racing with it. Then a minute later my mom called again, thus validating my having my phone! Thanks mom! Amanda and I found her, I gave her my bottle of perform, my car key, and my phone for her to hold for me during the race (what else are moms for???). As I gave all this to her, I made my decision. Just before I gave her my phone I sent a text to Mary. "I'm going for it."

I lined up with the 1:30 group, just behind the start line. I pushed all the doubt I may have had to the back of my mind, and promised myself that no I wasn't allowed to think about yesterday until I was done. Alexa was in the 1:40 group right behind me. I wished her luck again, and told her she was going to rock it. The gun went off, and it was game time. My pacer took off, much much faster than I had expected, I tried to pick him back up; but by the half mile mark, when I checked my garmin and it read 5:50 avg pace, I knew that I couldn't keep it up. I let him go, and settled into a good 6:40ish pace. I knew I would need to put some time into my average before the climb up to highland, and into the cemetery.

I ran for a few miles with a nice guy, and chatted a bit. We were both holding steady at 6:40, but i had to fall in behind him to grab a drink , and wasn't able to reel him right away, and didn't want to push just to have a buddy to talk to. I making my way down East, I saw my teammate Rich, and gave him a wave. He gave me a cheer, which always puts a little pep back into your step. Turned down Brunswick st. and laughed at a dog with a sign around it's neck saying "Run like you're chasing a cat."  That stuff takes my mind off the ache, and lets me pick it up a bit again. I headed down park, and saw a guy I met yesterday named Diego. (Diego volunteered at the Du yesterday, and loaned his bike to a girl who was doing her first Du, and flatted just after leaving transition. We started talking to him after the awards when I was cleaning up my transition area, and Amanda was telling him how nice it was of him to do that.) He remembered my name, and cheered for me. Definitely helped! Headed further down park, turned onto Goodman, and looked at the climb ahead. It's a tricky hill. It looks bad from the bottom, but you don't really feel like you're climbing until you're like halfway up. The hard part is when you're at the top, and turn right into highland, and get to climb some more! I passed a bunch of people heading up the hill. I donated an extra gel to a kid I saw struggling, and figured it was his first half. It was, and he hadn't eaten anything. I hope I was able to save him from too bad of a bonk.

I headed through the park, and was still feeling good. A little dull ache in the legs, but not too bad. Headed into the cemetery, and passed a few more people on the first climb. The cemetery is the worst part of this race. It never. Freakin. Ends. I pushed through as best I could. Tried to keep the pace around 6:50. Ran one 7:00, and one 6:40. Average preserved. Exiting the cemetery, I definitely started to feel it. I tried to relax into the slight descent to the entrance to U of R. Eased onto the river trail, and just focused on bringing it home. 5K to go. I just had to maintain. 2 miles to go. The strength is starting to fade. One to go. Definitely hurting. I lose it for a bit on this one. Let the pace drop too far. I get the focus back, and push down Exchange. Under the bridge, I see the finish. I give everything I have left.

I took the risk. I knew there was the possibility of a massive flame out. I raced hard yesterday, and there was every reason for me to not go for it today. I didn't care. I wanted it. I wanted it bad, an that's what got me through.

Old PR: 1:49
Today's result: 1:30:35 63rd OA.

84 days to go.