8/20 Mascomaman Half Iron

Mascomaman Half

8/20/2011

Enfield, NH

Summer/Training: Searching for an August Half to sign up for earlier this summer, I stumbled upon Mascomaman, a small, first-year event with an incredibly appealing price tag ($130, vs. the $275-300 for 70.3 races). Since I’m self-centered and care more about my own race time and goals than other people or prestige of the event, I decided this sounded like a good one. When I signed up in May, it seemed almost too far away – I didn’t think I needed much more training/preparation, since after road season I was in pretty good shape anyway.

Well, as the summer went on, I was glad I had so much time before the race. I will never be an exceptional triathlete because I don’t have the right discipline to train “properly” since, to me, the actual training needs to be enjoyable, not just the end result of the race; so, I tend to skimp on speedwork and hard runs, to my detriment, but at least I feel unlikely to burn out since the rest of the training is either fun or satisfying. I got to open-water swim at least twice a week all summer, which was awesome! (although swimming at Mystic Lake after rain, even when they haven’t posted a bacterial advisory, is sometimes a bit scary). Went on lots of nice bike rides, out to Walden or Harvard MA or Rhode Island, including some good hard hill repeats and time trials. All in all, I think I trained well for this race, although a couple more brick workouts may have served me well.

Pre-race: We managed to get together a carpool to drive to the race, which was nice. Sam Nicaise and I were both doing Mascoma, and Zuzka and Matthieu Talpe were headed to Burlington, VT for age group nationals; they dropped us off in Enfield on their way. We rode to the course for packet pickup (~8 miles from our hotel), swam a little bit in Mascoma Lake (very warm and pleasant), then rode back and got rained on. The next morning, we woke up at 4am to eat breakfast and ride back to the course; Sam had a flat tire, so we delayed a bit leaving, but that was probably good because it was still really dark out and so foggy it was impossible to see anything, so at least it started to become a bit lighter. The weather was chilly (60 degrees F), and I hoped that by some miracle it would stay that way ;)

Swim: 38:52 (inc. run to trans), 22nd

They delayed the swim start by almost an hour, because the fog lay so thick over the lake that no one could even come close to seeing any of the buoys. Since it was so cool out, I decided to wear my sleeveless wetsuit despite the warm water, no longer fearing overheating; this was a good plan, felt very comfortable. When eventually we did start, it was quite an interesting swim; there were 5 waves separated by 1 minute, and each wave only had 15 people in it! No getting clobbered by people in this race. Sam and I had a tentative idea of trying to draft off one another to save energy, but within the first 100 yards I lost him as I veered off towards the shore. It was madness, not being able to see the buoys at all until they were around 100m away; sometimes, the crowd would all go off in one direction, but I don’t think it was always the right one. Everyone just wanted to follow someone and assumed that maybe they knew what they were doing. The course was made into two counterclockwise loops with three buoys and a bunch of boats theoretically helping to define the course.

Considering how off my angles were when I tried to guess where the buoy might be, and how much I veered around, I was pleasantly surprised with my time; I decided to aim for somewhere between 35 and 40min, because going any faster would mean I might be over-fatigued for the rest of the race, and it didn’t seem worth getting tired so early on for an extra minute or two. Anyway, I came through in 37?? And went on to the run.

T1: 2:02 Slow, kind of on purpose – an extra 30 seconds to recuperate and not feel disoriented might be worth it on the bike (that’s my excuse, anyway).

Bike: 3:03:19, 2^nd female, 19th

The bike was awesome, so much fun. It was one big loop, essentially with only 3 turns. The whole course was quite hilly (~1800ft elevation gain), but mile 10-36 included a LOT of slightly-downhill sloping flats, which I excel at. Since I knew the last 20 miles of the course included some very long climbs, and I’m not much of a climber, I decided to be very aggressive up until that point to try to make up some time; after all, if I felt well-rested I might climb a little faster, but probably not a lot (and I applied the same logic towards the run vs bike – well rested might run a little faster, but probably not much…) Anyway, my “A” goal would have been 3:00, but when I saw the course profile I thought that would be nigh on impossible, and that I would be quite happy with anything under 3:15. At mile 36, my cumulative average was 20.0mph, coming through at 1:48; so, for the last 20 miles, I hoped to go sub-1:30. (I tend to do a lot of mental arithmetic while riding, keep my mind occupied…)

I guess there were some large hills, but to be honest I barely remember them (or blocked them out). I was feeling great, not disheartened, and that made a big difference. At mile 51 there was a huge downhill, which felt great. The last two miles included some big hills that weren’t all that fun, and I obviously must have tried very hard to forget about them because they completely surprised/dismayed me on the run. I hadn’t seen any other riders at all since mile 27, which was a somewhat odd experience, but it allowed me to focus on myself and my own race rather than worrying about other competitors, so it all turned out very well.

My nutrition strategy worked pretty well, considering that I rarely eat/replenish that much during training; there were 3 aid stations, weighted towards the beginning of the course, giving out Heed or water. I actually quite like Heed and think it’s one of the few sports drinks that tastes good (and mild), so I ended up drinking 3 bottles on the ride, in addition to half a packet of powerbar gel blasts and one powerbar. Note that trying something new that sounds like it might make it easier, such as removing the powerbar wrapper and sticking the bar on your leg half-under shorts, is disgusting and an incredibly unpleasant strategy.

T2: 1:01, stopped to stretch for a second and heard some unpleasant popping sounds in my legs…

Run: 2:18, 33rd

I hate running at the end of races. Unless it’s a sprint, I just hate it. Running in itself is nice sometimes; I usually enjoyed my long, easy, introspective runs, and every once in a while even track workouts feel good. But trying to run hard when I’ve just given everything I had to the bike was totally miserable. At first, I was elated, because upon starting the run at a time of 3:45, I figured I only needed to do a 2:15 half-marathon to make my overall time goal of sub-6:00. In training, I can do around 2:00, so 2:15 sounded quite generous. However, it took me over 3 miles to speed up my pace beyond 12-minute miles, which while maybe inevitable, really messed up my overall run. Sam whizzed by me at mile 3, probably going double my speed. My shins only bothered me for the first couple of miles, for which I am very thankful, but my quads and calves felt for most of it like they were about to seize up (and I knew if they did, I would probably fall over). So, I took my time, stopped at most of the aid stations for more Heed and gels (drank 2 bottles and 4 gels during the run), and just kept jogging along at a ~10-min-mile pace; there were only 2 places with mile markers, so it was hard to tell the actual pace.

The course was quite hilly. Miles 2-6 ran along the lake and in the shade, with a nice gravel road for part of it. Then, we emerged into the sun and surprising heat and up a long, grueling asphalt hill with rather scarce aid stations and overall discouraging speeds. One of my main obstacles has always been the heat, and I thought I acclimated a bit from running outside in Boston summer, but it turns out that, in a race at least, I’m not much better at it than ever before. I don’t know what the temperature was, probably mid-80’s, but very sunny and bright. I tried to keep my pace decent by counting strides and doing 20 hard, 30 easier, things like that to break it up; it worked for a while, until the pace-changing made my left quad seize up.

Towards the end, at a point where I might have just barely made my time goal, I had forgotten about the giant hills, and I all-to-slowly ascended and descended them, finally coming in at a finish time of 6:03. Upon starting the run, I was the third female overall, upon finishing, the fifth. I need to somehow get better at the run section, but I don’t really have the motivation to work on it more than I already have; it seems like the amount and intensity I train for the run doesn’t seem to vary the speed I race (although at least in a 5k I can do a more respectable 22-23…). Maybe I should try Aquabike racing.

Overall: 6:03:55, 1^st in F25-, 5^th/16 woman, 24^th/51 total finishers

Overall, I am very pleased with the way this went. My swim was just right, the bike was better than I could have even hoped for, and the run was bad, but the run is bad so frequently that it’s hardly surprising. While racing, I sometimes wonder why I do such a painful sport, but afterward (besides the soreness and not being able to walk, etc), I delude myself that the experience was extremely fun!

Also, greedy as I am, I was thrilled that upon winning my age group I got not only a certificate of achievement, but also my pick off a rack of new, expensive tri clothing, and they gave us 3 nice water bottles (more if you felt like carrying them while racing). The event was extremely well-organized for a first-year race, and I will consider doing it again next year, although I would like to do a flatter, faster Half sometime. No doubt, it was much more fun racing with a friend and having teammates to drive with than it was going alone to the one I did last summer!

What I Learned/Tips for Next Year:

1. Following people on the swim doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going the right direction.

2. A powerbar is impossible to eat while racing without a bento box or something. Buy one.

3. Going all-out on the bike is a good way to make up tons of time, but maybe take the last couple of miles easy to let the legs recover

4. Run hard more often

5. Small races can be an awesome value

4/23-4/24 Easterns @ Penn State

I should have written a race report for this! Oh well, here's a brief summary from what I remember 4 months later:



Saturday:
TTT:
10 mile TTT, 1st place in Womens B (and I think our time would have been 2nd in Womens A behind MIT). It was pretty rainy and wet, and we (Diana, Kris, and I) hadn't practiced riding much together, so it was surprisingly good. Diana really pulled me through the final hills and made such a huge difference.



RR:
The road race was originally to be 40 miles, then a lot of women petitioned the race directors to make it 60 (so that it would be the same distance as the Men's B race). Then, they decided it would be 60, but anyone more than 10 min behind the front rider after two laps would be pulled and placed. As it turned out, the race went up a pretty significant mountain each lap, which was very hard but kind of fun, with a feed zone right before the descent back down to the start. Anyway, Katie was so far ahead of everyone that only 3 people _weren't_ pulled after 2 laps; and frankly, after riding mostly alone or with one other person for a few hours and after the morning TTT, I was ready to be done!

Crit:
The final race of the ECCC season was kind of a mess; the roads were wet, and there was a sharp S-turn in the middle of the course, so there were tons of crashes and falls. I flatted only 2 laps in so had to run to the pit (for the first time ever) and have them get me a new wheel. Soon after, I won some points in a prime. Then I was pulled. Not very exciting -- I think my total riding time was only ~15 min (though plenty of other people were pulled early too).

Season Overall:
In terms of cumulative points, I ended up 2nd in women's B for the season!!! That was really exciting, though I think it says more about my TT ability than bike-handling or real road racing skills (hence the reason I do well in the bike portions of triathlon...)

MIT dominated the overall conference omnium, div 1 and 2! It was really a fun season, with so many promising new riders and so many great races. Looking forward to next year! (but first, I need a break, and some triathlons)

4/16-4/17 Dartmouth and UNH

Dartmouth/UNH 2011

Dartmouth:
ITT: This was a ~4-mile mostly-uphill time trial. I knew it wouldn’t be as good as the previous ITTs, but I really was annoyed with myself after the end, when I realized that I got 5th place but 3rd place was only 1 second faster; it took me several pedal strokes just to clip in! So, that was disappointing, but not altogether surprising, especially since I slept less in the previous week than I can remember any time in the recent memory so really was not feeling strong.

Crit: The crit was confusing due to the mixing between A’s and B’s, as always. I raced well, pushed hard, shared work with a couple of other girls, and finished fine. Nothing spectacular, nothing outrageously bad.


UNH:
TTT: Diana, Kris and I started this very hilly 10 mile TTT. Rainstorms left the roads quite wet and the descents sketchy, but the sun started to come out during our race. We passed all of the other B teams (there were only 3), dropped Kris on an uphill, and then I had to beg Diana to not drop me on the rest of the uphills; that was quite a nice change, really, since I had expected to have to pull most of the race, since it was her first race weekend ever.



Road Race: This was a 60 mile road race, 3 laps each with a significant amount of elevation gain. I stayed with the main pack for only the first 8 miles, and then dropped on the first big steep uphill; I don’t know why I’m such a terrible climber despite all of my training! I suppose weight has something to do with it, but there are much bigger people than me who manage to stay with the pack. Then, I rode with 2 other girls for the rest of the lap. On lap 2, one girl dropped me, and I dropped the other girl, so I essentially time-trialed pretty hard for the next 20 miles, being sure to eat a gel and shot bloks and a bottle of gatorade throughout the race. Sadly, with about 8 miles to go, the girl who I dropped earlier caught back up with two others, who had been taking it pretty easy and just rotating/pacelining for the whole time I had been TT-ing; needless to say, they dropped my tired self pretty fast, though I did pass one back on the final climb. I ended up over 30 minutes behind the lead A rider, but I was so totally exhausted that I’d consider it a good race anyway.

Overall: The team did awesome, as always. I didn’t have a particularly great weekend, but stood 3rd in the women’s B omnium overall standings after this weekend; with a lot of sleep and some luck, maybe next weekend I can do better!

4/9 Collegiate Triathlon Nationals!

Triathlon Nationals 2011 Race Report
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
April 9, 2011



Warning: I usually love writing race reports, but have had a lot of schoolwork to do so put off writing the most recent ones for such a long time that this might be annoyingly short or boring.

Travel: 13 athletes from MIT (5 women, 8 men) flew out to Birmingham then drove to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for collegiate triathlon nationals. The flights were uneventful, but the dramatic change in landscape and climate totally shocked me; we came from cold, rainy Boston to almost tropical-feeling, green Alabama.

Swim: 28:35
The water temperature felt fairly cold (~62 degrees), but not altogether unpleasant because the air was so balmy. For this race, the men all started around 7am, then the women did not start until 10:00; this altogether made the races for men and women quite different, as we had to deal with horrible heat and humidity by the end, and they didn’t. Anyway, I started in the first wave, with all of the elite/semi-pro triathletes along with all the other women who just happened to be seeded first for some reason; the swim was ok, though I didn’t really go as hard as I would have in a pool because everything was so chaotic. The crazy part of the swim (and the reason for the super-slow time) is that the run into the transition area was at least 2 minutes/.25 miles, which was quite long.

Bike: 1:16:20
The bike course and race was great, super fun. It was mostly flat or rolling hills, without very much wind. It’s always really exciting to pass women on super-expensive bikes with aero-everything, who should probably just spend some more time training…On that note, I got to watch the men’s bike start because our race hadn’t started yet, and it was AMAZING how many of the top men fell off or totally messed up their bike mounts; sometimes, simple methods (i.e. putting on shoes in transition zone) are more efficient! The course consisted of two laps, so it was fun to see other MIT women going the opposite direction and cheer for them.

Run: 52:21
The run was not fun (it rarely is, but this was particularly not fun), due to the heat and humidity; it reached the high 80’s during our race, and there were literally girls who just sat down in the middle of the road and couldn’t move, and people who were carried in on stretchers and dunked in ice baths. So, compared to them, all of us MIT women survived fairly well; I felt like I was sprinting and was shivering pretty badly on the final mile (which was around a 9:00 pace, yikes), but ended up running a 53, which is far from the worst I’ve ever done. Anyway, it was a great relief to finish and walk around with big bags of ice for the next few hours (and sunburn for the next few days).

Overall: 2:39:45

Overall, it was quite fun, and we had a great time. I placed fine, not a lot better than last year but at least slightly so. This summer, my goal is to get better at running in the heat.

4/2-4/3 Boston Beanpot

Beanpot:

Day 1: Time Trials
TTT: The women’s B triple t had many very good moments before its overarching bad one. Andrea Love and I made up the team, since we had the “problem” of having too many women in A’s to form a complete B team (great problem to have!) We started out on the gently rolling course behind the Army 4-person team, not expecting to beat them because of their shear numbers but figured we were guaranteed at least 4th place overall because there were only 4 B teams. Well, we passed Army pretty early on, and with Andrea giving me very nice rests by leading up the hills we made very good time for the first 9 miles of the 12-mile race. Actually, we passed quite a few of the A teams, and the 2 other B teams were several _minutes_ behind us by the time Andrea crashed. It was her first race, and unfortunately turned out to be a terrible start to the season; she hit my rear wheel and went down, breaking her collarbone So sad :( At least all of the other MIT teams did well, and hopefully she recovers quickly!

ITT:
My goal was to win the ITT now that Christina isn’t in my category anymore ;)
This week was slightly less intense on the training than last week, so my legs felt quite fresh in the morning, and I was really hoping I could do it. However, after I finished marshaling I ended up without any time for a warmup (well, rode for 5 minutes on the trainer) and stupidly didn’t eat enough or bring any water with me. So, not ideal, but after the first mile of excruciating pain I settled in and rode as hard as I could. Passed SEVEN women, which made me think that it must have been a great race for me, but a new Dartmouth girl took 1st place instead (she deserved it – super strong nordic skier). Good competition for the future!
Anyway, today turned out pretty well (and extremely well for a number of MIT riders!), but hopefully the rest of the season is crash-free.



Tufts Crit:
This crit was crazy, because it was short and hilly, and they didn't pull very many riders (which was nice, but also made it strange). I didn't write this report at the time so don't have it all fresh in my memory, but I do remember that I was doing very well for a long time in relation to the B women. Then, 3 MIT A women lapped me, and I essentially TT-ed with them for a lap before they dropped me again. It was a physically demanding, painful race, but pretty fun, and I ended up in 3rd place!