RACE REPORT: 2017 HMF Litchfield Hills Olympic Tri

Hartford Marathon Foundation

Litchfield Hills Olympic Triathlon

July 16th, 2017

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This was my 7th running of this race in 8 years.  Sorry 2011, I was busy.

My first was in 2010, seven days after my very first Olympic triathlon; apparently I was hooked.  I can't tell you that it was a wonderful experience (I've performed much better since then!), but I love the challenge, camaraderie, and community.  For many reasons, this race always feels like a trip back home.

Ok - An insight.  I consumed 90 mg of caffeine during the race (Aside from race day, I have not consumed caffeine in my normal diet since 2003), so while I would normally be sleeping right now, I decided to expel the energy with words instead.  You're welcome!

Honestly, I don't know how anyone lives on caffeine.  I would never get any sleep. 


Onto the race!

PRE-RACE

I was up at 3:45am.  (*cue non-morning people shock*)  That's still early for me, but it's race day - it's part of the package.  I put on my breathe right & tatoos, had breakfast (3 eggs, 2 toast, 2 bananas, and water), put on sun tan lotion, packed up the car and headed out.

FUN EVENT #1

Headlights

I got into my car, punched in the address on my GPS, and away I go.  I stopped the car 5 seconds later.  Why are my headlights not on?  Are they dimmed?  I know they're not the brightest things in the world.  (*Turns high beams on*)  Okay, those work.  (*Turns high beams off*)  Where are my headlights??  (*Gets out of the car to make sure he's not crazy*)  Yup, both of my headlights decided to sleep in today.  I drove the whole way to the race (40 min) saying "sorry" to the 10 people I passed on the road for blinding them.  Gotta' get that fixed this week! 

I got to the race without driving someone off the road or getting pulled over and set up my triathlon team's tent (HEAT).  The race staff were busy getting everything set up and some friends were already on site for volunteering.  One is very much NOT a morning person.  Kudos Dennis!

Tent was up!  I grabbed my gear from the car, picked up the packet, got into transition, set my stuff up, and was ready to go!

USAT TIP

You are no longer allowed to set your transition up outside of the bike racks.  I arrive early to this race because you get to set your bike up anywhere you'd like on the rack that lists your race number.  I choose the end, so that I can set my gear up on the end.  Nope!  USAT is not having it.  This year, USAT edited that wording to state that all transitions must be within the bike rack.  Good to know!

I headed down to the swim start (0.25 mile away from transition) with 20 minutes until race start.  I never manage to get down there by the time I plan to.  At least I'm consistent!  I downed a GU with caffeine, wipe the goggles with a Foggies, and into the water I go.

SWIM

We stood in the water for 4 minutes while Wave #1 headed off.  I swam a few strokes out to the side and back.  I stopped just short of the group, go to stand, and subsequently sink right under the water.  I realized the bottom of the lake drops off rather suddenly right there.  That made a couple people laugh.  Great way to start race day!

You can't take life too seriously!
No, seriously... You can't.

It will spit that $^#* right back at you.

Swimmers take your mark - GO!  We were off.  As always, my swimmer ego takes over a bit and I head out hard to get away from the fray.  A few guys to my left (I started right - a tactic I'm employing to keep myself from veering left off course), take off with me.  They start to pull ahead, so I make my way over slowly like the socially awkward kid looking to blend into the "cool" crowd and wouldn't you know, two of the three guys fall off.  What is something I said??

I stuck with the lead swimmer for another 100 yards or so.  We were wide left of the buoys, but it was a draft, so I was fine taking a longer route.  Then I noticed that we were drifting FURTHER away from the buoys.  Nope!  I won't let he blind lead the blind.  I pulled back right and swam on my own the rest of the swim.  Loner!!

After the first buoy, I pulled back out of the anaerobic push and found a rhythm that did quite well for the rest of the swim.  As I made my way through Wave #1, it was surprisingly helpful for me mentally to do so.  All I did was focus on making it to the left or right of the next person so I didn't swim over them or scare them and it made the buoys go by quicker (in my head). 

The end of the swim was a little flat for me.  I tried to push, but my body ramped up the effort with little perceived speed gain, so I stuck to it and finished strong.  I grabbed an Olympic swim PR, so I can't complain.  Of course, I didn't know that until I saw the results afterwards (no watch on the swim), but it still felt good. 


TRANSITION #1

Litchfield Hills has a notoriously nasty swim-to-bike transition.  The distance from the swim start to transition is roughly 0.3 miles.  Yes, it's a hike.  On top of that, it's mostly uphill.  Oh, and it's packed gravel.  What FUN!!!  Therefore, most athletes bring an extra pair of shoes to leave at the swim exit.  

I popped up out of the water, put the goggles on my forehead, unhooked the wetsuit, and ripped off the top all while finding my shoes.  I leave them towards the end; get me out of the fray.

I got the wetsuit off, put on my shoes, and ran up the hill.  A video of said "run" may have looked more like a hobbling penguin, but to my knowledge no such video exists so I will continue with my fantasy. 

Once in transition (a beautiful grassy area to make up for the packed gravel run), I swapped the shoes, suit, and goggles for a helmet, sunglasses, and bike.  And off onto the bike I went. 


BIKE

The goal for today was to make the run fall apart.  Not in the way a delicious apple pie crumbles when correctly put together, but like when a bridge begins to collapse while you're stuck in rush hour traffic. 

The plan was to push the swim and the bike so that by the time I got to the run, my body would be like your old dog Fluffy who would just sit down when he decided today's walk was over.  The swim was done, so it was time to crank it on the bike.  Once I was strapped in, I found a comfortable rhythm in the 80-85 rpm range and went to work.

The above is a 100% legal way to make your way through the bike course.  It might not lead to a PR or even a finish, but feel free to give it a try.  40k "Run with Bike."

FUN EVENT #2

Bee Attack!!

Not even 1 mile into the ride, I get pelted by two small items.  It's happened before; usually bugs of some sort Jay-flying across the street directly into oncoming traffic.  They were solid enough that they gave me a momentary sting and then I was good.  ...until I wasn't.

I kept pedaling and the spot I got hit on my left quad kept stinging.  Once I was over some rough pavement, I looked down.  Maybe it was a thorn or just my imagination.  Unless my imagination comes in black and yellow stripes, I was sure this feeling had more substance to it.  In that moment, years of being afraid of bees flashed before my eyes as I swatted the bee off of my leg, who was likely having just as much of a fearful experience as I was.  I had mild reactions as a kid (nothing life threatening but I swelled a good amount), but I list bee stings as an allergy for that reason. 

I continued on thinking "Well, we're going to find out one way or another if I still have a reaction to bees."  Luckily, it didn't go past an unpleasant sting.  Phew!!  On the side of the road struggling to breathe and covered in hives was not how I planned to spend my Sunday!

Onward I rode!  The first 14 miles of the course are net downhill.  There are some rollers, but for the majority of the ride, I cranked out the big gears on flats and downhills attempting to keep the effort level up as I kept riding down. 

More caffeine into the system - 2 gels; one at mile 5 and the second at mile 15.  Still riding the high 12 hours later.  

Then I turned onto 202 and the uphills began.  Again, I stuck to the 80-85 rpm range and cranked it out as best I could keeping the effort up.  Remember, I wanted my run to blow up and I can't do that as easily if I take it easy on the bike. 

One gentleman did pass me around mile 16.  I worked to keep him in sight up until the final 5 miles and he was gone.  I told myself I would catch him on the run.  I did! 

There is one part of the Litchfield Hills Olympic bike course you will hear about; Bruning Road.  This is the 2nd to last road of the day with several climbs/inclines including the final


And then 0.25 mile from the bike finish...

FUN EVENT #3

Dropped Chain (Ugh!!)

After the killer finish to Bruning Rd, we ride down a quick descent with a subsequent ascent before the dismount area.  As I approached the incline, I shifted both the front and back derailers and OFF goes the chain.  For a brief second, I think 'Maybe I can coast in or get it back on without stopping.'  Short lived.  The incline brings me to a stop. 

Quickly off, man-handle the chain, reset it, back on, and GO!  Maybe 20 seconds lost at most.  And a laugh.  I told the spectators standing there watching me "This is an omen for sure!"

Finished up the bike without any further issues (the final 0.25 mile), dismounted, and off to see if I was going to blow up. 

This is my trademark Uber Aero bike dismount.  Or maybe I'm just riding a really awkward version of side saddle.  The jury is out!



TRANSITION #2

Straight forward as always.  Bike racked, helmet/glasses off, socks/shoes on, grab everything else, and run.

As I entered transition, a friend yelled out "Only a relay and duathlete ahead of you."   Even the announcer said "And here is our first triathlete into transition."  I did my best to push that out of my head and keep pushing.  Placement wasn't going to do me any good.  ...but who's gong to complain about being in first??

I actually have before.  My dad has video proof.

RUN

This is it!  Show time. 

Mile #1 goes "okay."  I stopped to pee quickly (10s) and I had the same gravel road from the swim-to-T1 run to deal with.  Throw that one out!

Mile #2 clicked off much faster than I expected (albeit downhill), so I let my body do its thing.  It did not continue to impress me. 

Mile #3 was on par with my perceived effort.  The heat along with the swim/bike push started to take a toll.  But I managed to push on for another 3.2 miles. 

I reeled in one athlete at 1.5 miles.  I reeled in a second athlete (relay) at mile 2.  But then there's another up ahead.  'Did my friend back in transition count them wrong?'  'Who else could be out here?'  I catch up to the taller gentlemen - the only person to pass me on the bike today - and we exchange "Nice job"s.  He also has a bike escort. 

Sweet!!

I've now commandeered my very own bike escort.

Or at least I will once he catches back up

I just passed him.

Despite my run falling apart (aka. running much slower than I would expect and pushing harder spikes the effort level WAY high), I am still able to pull close to the bike as we hit an incline.  This becomes a little mental game for me as I tick off the last 2 miles.  I will take anything to distract me!

As I pass mile 4, I try to push harder (make it HURT!) and I do speed up (though my data doesn't show it - lying data! #alternativedata).  Again at mile 5, I dig in and push harder.  The HR went up 1 bpm; more likely cardiac drift given my oncoming headache and the rising heat.

As I come up to the finish, I kick it in for the final 0.2 miles and I get to break the tape for the first time ever.  Then Bill, who started in Wave #3 four minutes behind me, comes up 3:14 later and beats me by 46 seconds. 

No complaints here!

We both had good days.  I hit all of my process and target goals.  I took home a pie (which is delicious!!).  I had fun racing and hanging out with friends.  It was  darn good day all around. 

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Onto Rev3 Poconos Olympic on August 13th!

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QUESTIONS
1.  What is the best race award you've seen or heard about?
I've seen Thule racks, free race entries, very crafty homemade medals (always cool!), but I personally love the pies that you get at Litchfield Hills Olympic.  Now that's a prize I can put to good use!

2.  What non-day ending "fun events" have happened to you on race day? 
Flat tires, going off course, dropped chains, throwing up for 16 miles, bee stings, falling off my bike trying to unclip... That's all that I can recall. 

3.  Does anyone use caffeine only on race day and have the side effect of being wide awake 12 hours later?
Please tell me I'm not the only one!


DREAM.  BELIEVE.  ACHIEVE. 

RACE REPORT: 2017 Rev3 Quassy Olympic

Rev3 Quassy Olympic

June 3rd, 2017

I have raced the Rev3 Quassy 4 times (2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015).  Last year, I opted to race IM 70.3 Eagleman instead and to be honest, it felt WEIRD!  It was a good change, but man did it feel odd to be on course the weekend of the race and not be checking my tire pressure, setting up transition, thinking about the water temperature, and such.  This year, I was back!!  And I branched out to try the Olympic this time.  

Funny thing...

We Rev3 Quassy is called the Beast of the Northeast and most consider that the doing of the Half race on Sunday.  It has 3800 ft of elevation change on the bike and 850 ft on the run.  Having raced it four times and trained on it more times than I can recall, it truly is a beast any way you cut it.  

However, the Olympic is just as formidable!  Just look at the elevation change per mile comparison.

Rev3 Quassy Half Bike = 68 ft 

Rev3 Quassy Oly Bike = 68 ft

Rev3 Quassy Half Run = 65 ft

Rev3 Quassy Oly Run = 59 ft

Sure, you can argue that you don't have the same total elevation by the end of the day, but the pain is of the same caliber all day long!

But enough of that.  Let's get to racing!

PRE-RACE

As you might tell from my previous reports, I am 70.3-focused.  However, I am focusing this year on some more intensity with three Olympics before heading back to the 70.3 in September.  So I approached this with as much focus as I would an A-race. I shaved the legs on Wednesday, got a new haircut on Thursday, had my typical carbo-load breakfast on Friday, and tapered much like I would normally.  Everything in place!

The only addition to this was a Thursday night sprint tri.  I would have raced the previous week, but that race was cancelled.  In order to get the cobwebs shaken out, Lake T it was!  

RACE MORNING

Air Temp = 50-60F/10-15.6C (7-9:30a)

Water Temp = 64F/17.8C 

Mostly Cloudy

I live approximately 40 minutes from the race site.  Transition opened at 5:15a and based on previous experience, the front row parking is full about 20-30 minutes before that time.  Therefore, I was up at 3:20am and parked at the race by 4:40a.  Am I type A?, yes!

My morning breakfast was the usual; 3 over easy eggs, 2 pieces of toast, a banana, and a full jar of applesauce.  I would swap my typical 1 hour pre-race Powerbar for a double scoop of UCan protein (chocolate) with half the water, and had a caffeinated GU gel 20 minutes before the swim start.  For an Olympic, I start caffeine right away while at 70.3, I wait until mile 35 on the bike.

Mistakes are getting easier to overlook.

As I began setting up transition, I pulled out my bottles, shoes, kit, socks, gear, etc.  I started to pull out my race nutrition when I realized that I had the UCan hydrate which goes into my aero bottle, but I had left the aero bottle on my desk at home.  Uh-oh!!  At a longer race, yes, that would have bothered me as I know I am not the best at maintaining my hydration throughout a race.  However, given the air temps and shorter format of the race, I let it slide.  That's one thing I'll never forget again!  haha

SWIM

GPS

None.  I don't wear it.

The swim is a clockwise triangle format.  It was angled differently this year to avoid the glare of the sun on the second slide of the triangle.  Whether good or bad, the sun spent most of the race hiding, so there was no chance of being blinded.

I lined up in the front line of roughly 15-20 men for the first wave of the day.  This meant the swim would be smooth, but the rest of the race would likely be quiet.  As the air horn went off, I ran out into the water until I could no longer lift my legs above water.  I dove in and began swimming.  I noticed multiple people to my left and right doing dolphin dives.  For a split second, I thought "Should I do that too?  I don't want to lose ground."  That was quickly answered by the observation that those dolphin diving were not gaining in placement.  I kept swimming. 

The pack quickly divided.  There were a group that broke away early on.  I believe post-race that it was 3-4 swimmers.  As they separated from the main group, I noticed that no one was left on either side.  As is my norm, I found myself in calm, open water.  As much as I would prefer to have a draft and do better with one, I am quite used to swimming alone.

Holy Veering!!

I know I veer left as I swim.  I do my best to compensate for that by shooting right of my target.  But on that morning, my body was determined to head off into the open lake!  I can't even blame other swimmers!!  These are times that I wish I wore my GPS in the swim - so that I could see how far off course I swam.  I did begin to dig into me mentally, but I decided to ask myself as a coach what to do.  I just kept correcting and realized it was something I would have to work on.  I couldn't completely fix the issue right then, so why worry?

I've been working lately on productive mental talk
and today that helped!

As I came to the end of the swim, of course my body had one last laugh at me by mixing up the arrangement of the final two buoys and swinging extra wide.  But I made it to the swim exit, popped up, and continued on all the same.

SWIM = 21:58

Not bad for veering wide for most of the course.

My dad informed me afterwards that this is one way he can always pick me out of a swimming crowd.  I have a specific rhythm in my stroke and I always veer left.  Thanks Dad!! 

TRANSITION 1

If there is one thing to note about the elevation change in the Quassy course, it is that it's spread out quite evenly.  Unlike some courses that have sections of all the elevation gain and others that are quite flat, Quassy has hills all day long; even coming out of the swim!

Out of the water, you head uphill to the parking lot where transition is set up.  They do offer an aid station just before the transition entrance which is nice.

I found my bike, got out of the wetsuit, put on my bike shoes, a pair of light winter gloves, sunglasses, helmet, and was off!!

BIKE

GPS

Screen 1 = Cadence, Mileage, & HR

Screen 2 = Average Lap HR (never looked at it)

Normally, I never put my shoes on in transition, but the bike course begins with... Wait for it... an uphill!  I made the decision to not attempt getting into my shoes while on a hill.  In hind sight, I think I'd go back to leaving the shoes on the bike.

Live and learn!!

However, I did make another first time change that worked out well.  I have raced Quassy Half before with 50 degree air temps at the start.  In my recollection, it was FREEZING for the first 10 miles or so.  I survived and did fine, but it wasn't a pleasant start to the day.  Being that today was even shorter, I knew I wouldn't have as much time to warm up.  Therefore, I opted for the light winter gloves (they cover the full fingers).  It took me extra time in transition, but the bike was much more comfortable.

Ok... Now the course!

The bike course is a single-loop, lollipop format with the first and last roughly 5-6 miles being the same.  As mentioned, the elevation gain is comparable to the Half race based on per mile.  Much of the course is even the same as the Half.  We simply use a different initial/final 4 miles of road and cut out one large chunk of the Half.  Altogether, the elevation is quite spread out.  A forewarning is that it can be tough to find a time/place to take in nutrition as you are busy going up hill, tucking in to fly down hill, or making a turn.  I fell into that pit 3 of the 4 previous times I raced here.

As I predicted at the start line, the bike course was really quiet.  I saw roughly four other riders the entire 24.8 miles.  This makes the race a much bigger mental struggle than being in a pack.  While I don't do my best in these conditions, I believe I've learned to cope adequately.

My silent goal was to hold the HR somewhere between my sprint and 70.3 race ranges.  In a sprint, I am up at 170+ bpm.  In a 70.3, I am around 158-162 bpm.  I held a fairly constant 160-165 bpm for the majority of the race and felt strong about that.  I never felt my body begin to fatigue and was able to put out surges when I needed to.  I do think I could hold the HR higher, but I was happy with the outcome as is.

Nutrition was different today!  As I mentioned earlier, I did not have my front hydration, so I had to remind myself to reach down and grab a frame bottle.  I had guessed that over 5-6 drinks, I took in 10-12 ounces while in reality, it was more like 4 ounces.  I did get in one caffeinated gel around mile 15 and it went in much faster than I expected.  I was happy with that - no GI push backs!

As I came up to the final 6 miles, I began to push.  I wanted the last quarter of the bike to be pushed harder than the previous three-quarters.  It was made a bit easier by the fact that it's net uphill in those final miles.  Mission accomplished.

BIKE = 1:12:48

TRANSITION 2

I spent half of the bike debating what to do in transition.  Normally, I go without a shirt if I'm allowed to - which I am at Rev3.  But it was colder than the typical race, so maybe I would stay in my sleeved jersey.  I raced in it on Thursday as a test and it's not bad.  It isn't as cool as a bare chest, but it is workable.  I did leave the bra in transition as well.  That could be a happy medium.  In the end, it was above my typical 50-degree cut off, so I went without the shirt.

I rolled into transition, racked the bike, took off the helmet and glasses, sat down, put on my shoes, grabbed my gear and ran.  While moving, I put on my hat and race belt and switched the watch to run mode.

RUN

GPS

Screen 1 = Heart Rate

Screen 2 = Pace (I forgot I had put this on there)

What's that in my shoe??

I'm used to feeling like there's something in my shoe.  Just a crease in the sock or rock in the bottom of the shoe.  I kept running a quarter mile until I realized what it was.  On Thursday, the clip to my Lock Laces fell off.  I couldn't put it back on at the race, so I left it in the shoe figuring I'd remember to put it back on the laces Saturday morning.  Nope!  I had even forgotten where I put it until just then.

Funny thing...

I stopped, took off my shoe, got the clip out, put my shoe back on, and continued to run the entire race with that clip in my left hand.  I'd just put it back on when I got home.  But somewhere between the finish line and chatting with friends just outside the finisher's chute, I lost it.  Haha!! 

My goal was to stay comfortable for 2 miles, survive the nasty hill at mile 3, then push mile 5 and 6 hard.  The pace does not reveal this, but my HR does.  I was steady (actually slowly increasing) from the start through mile 4.  Then I spiked up a bit and held it up through the finish.  Again, a process goal complete!!

As I left Quassy, I was about 0.05 miles from "Mais," the athlete in front of me.  He held his distance all the way through mile 3.

As we ran down covered roads, I debated on whether to stop and pee.  I had been wanting to pee since the swim.  I opted not to only because I knew that there were porta johns easily accessible at each aid station.  I'd stick to my rabbit until I absolutely had to leave him.

At mile 3, there was a quick downhill before the nasty hill.  Apparently Mais is not a downhill runner and I quickly passed him.  As we came to the hill, I put my head down and repeated "Just survive" to myself.  No need to overcook the legs here.  I wanted to do that in mile 5 and 6.  Plus, the last time I was on this hill was 2015 and I had to walk it - I was toast then.  I wasn't going to be now.

Another athlete passed me towards the top.  I held with him through 3.5 miles and then he drifted away a bit.  As we hit mile 4, the road begins to decline and I began to push.  With that, I held onto this new athlete (he was in a red, white, and blue kit and in my age group!).  I held onto him through the end but was never able to close.  We both did however, close in on two other athletes in the final mile.  The final 1.5 miles is uphill; the same hill we ran down to start the run.  It's a tough section only because it's the very end and if you've paced it well, you're already pushing hard at that point.  I came within 25 yards of one athlete, but as he told me post-race, he could hear my feet and that was motivation enough to put in an extra push.  We were 4 seconds apart.  I was not unhappy with that finish though.  It was a solid process run!!

RUN = 39:58

FINISH = 2:17:37

POST-RACE

The afternoon of hot flashes.

After I finished, I talked with a few friends and then went to put clothes on as I began to cool off.  About 30 minutes later, I was warm and began shedding layers.  I spent about 1.5 hours spectating and then got cold again - back on with the clothes and jacket.  A little later, off they come.  I would realize the next morning that I likely had a cold, but wow was that a weird afternoon!!

I spent most of the afternoon under the bridge at mile 5.6 of the run taunting people as they came up the final hill.  Then I packed my transition gear, got some food, and volunteered at packet pick up.

All around, it was a GREAT day!!

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QUESTIONS
1.  Have you raced a Rev3 event before?  
Yes, Quassy and Cedar Point.  I'll race Poconos and IM 70.3 Maine (still a Rev3 Race) this year.

2.  Do you race with process goals, metric goals, or both?
I much prefer process goals, but supplement with metric goals at times as long as my perception is matching them.


DREAM.  BELIEVE.  ACHIEVE.