Frederick Triathlon Club in Frederick, Maryland

For the rest of the season I am entered in two more triathlons.

 Sunday, September 14 – Pinchot Olympic Triathlon in Lewisberry, PA (60 miles away)

Saturday, October 4 – Giant Acorn Sprint Triathlon at Lake Anna in Bumpass, VA

 I have room in my van for others if you want to do the Giant Acorn.  The race starts at 10am so there is no overnight expense.  I will be going there in the morning.  There are limited spots remaining.  Let me know if you would like to join me……the family cannot make this one.

 Ken Racine

From Tribe member Ken Racine:

I did the Timberman Half Ironman on August 17.  Here is a short report.

Timberman is in Laconia, NH.  It’s a hilly course but a very fun event.  The weather is usually cooler than most areas for mid August.  Weather started off in the low 60’s at the start and got to low 80s by the end.  Last year it was 55 to start and 72 at the end (which is more typical).

I had a good race beating my time last year by 34 minutes (I was not trained properly last year for the distance).

Swim 40 mins

Bike 2:52

Run 2:07

Total 5:45:50

Had it not been for stomach cramps on the run from drinking a heavily concentrated drink on the bike I could have easily dropped 7 to 10 minutes on the run.

This year I worked with Herb Spicer and he got me to loose 12 lbs in the 2 weeks leading up to the event.  Admitting I have been hovering in the mid 180s and should be 165 to 170 for optimal race conditioning (I like to eat too much).  I got down to 174 in 10 days from 186.  I have continued working with Herb and now weight 171 and am on my way to 165.  My times are getting faster simply by losing the weight!

From Club Prez Hank

This is the third year for Iron Girl Columbia and my third time participating.  Each year the medals are the same just a different color and sponsor name on the ribbon.  This year’s sponsor was Aflac so of course they included a little Aflac duck in the goodie bag that screamed “Aflaaaaaac” every time you squeezed it (more on that later).

 

My day started at 4:45 am with the traditional whole wheat toast with peanut butter and water (kinda like prison, bread and water).   Arriving at 5:45 I remembered in years past about not parking in the park because you can’t leave until most of the race is over so I parked on Route 108 facing Route 29 which made for a quick exit when needed.

 

Set up went smooth which allowed a lot of free time to visit friends and stand in the port-o-potty line.   6:45 I head over to the start as I was the 3^rd wave starting at 7:05.  On goes the pretty red swim cap (I remembered to put the goggles on first and then the cap to prevent them from being kicked off) and into the mucky, slimy boat dock into the 83 degree water.  You have to go in the water right after the previous wave which means you then have to tread water for a good 5 minutes which feels like eternity.   I never heard the Aflac duck squawk which was the start of the race so I just started when I saw the other arms flailing about.   Thankfully I only got kicked once in the gut.  It was difficult to see the first turn buoy as the sun just some up and was right in our eyes.  I felt good on the swim, fairly strong and had no problem sighting every 10 strokes or so.  I am not a fast swimmer but I did feel strong and manage to shave a full 3 minutes off last year’s time.

 

Transition 1 went smoothly for me, nothing noteworthy other than as I was taking my bike UP the hill out of transition there must have been 5 other women there just standing around trying to figure out how to get on their bike or something.  I scooted away quickly to get out of their way and head on out.  I felt good during the ride although my time was 2 minutes slower than last year.   I did attach that little Aflac duck to the top of my bike helmet for fun.  I needed something to amuse myself up the steep hills.  Any time I passed someone or some one passed me on the hill I squeezed the duck and it screamed “Aflaaaaac”.  It was a hit along the course but I think the duck made me less aerodynamic.  I didn’t have the problem with cars on the course as others did, perhaps because I started earlier.  One thing about this event that I love is that it is just that – an EVENT.  There were many women on plain ol’ bikes, nothing fancy or expensive.  One woman was riding like a beach bike with the big basket on the front.  I kept looking for Toto in there or at least a bunch of flowers but didn’t see any.

 

Transition 2 was again uneventful.   Grab the bib number (I bought one of those bright pink Iron Girl bib belts so I looked cool this year) and my sports drink and away I go.  I felt very tired on the run and just couldn’t get the rhythm going.  Met up with a gal to talk ourselves through the start so that was good.   About mile 1 ½ you come to the Gatorade hill which is brutal in my opinion.   Walked up the hill, ran down, around the lot and then of course you have to go BACK UP the hill so once again I walked.   I felt good on the run down and sprinted the last ¾ of a mile to the finish.  I felt strong as I crossed the finish line.   Slower run than last year but considering that I have been suffering with Achilles tendonitis and the beginnings of the dreaded plantar fasciitis I did OK.

 

Best part of the whole race for me is when you come up to the finish line you hear your name and realize that you did it.   The announcer says, “Tracy Vagrin, you are an Iron Girl”!

 

My stats

Aflac Iron Girl Triathlon  8/24/08

 

0.62 mile swim

17.5 mile bike

  3.3 mile run

 

205 women in age group (AG) 45- 49

 

swim  90/205   24.37  (full 3 minutes off last year’s swim!)

T1       6/205     2:17

bike   82/205   1:06:16  avg speed 15.8 mpg (very hilly course)

T2     40/205     1:27

run    65/205     33:31  9:52 pace (not bad considering I’ve been suffering some foot/ankle problems)

 

Total 2:08:05.50  (1 1/2 minutes faster than last year)

 

Well folks, after the DNF at North East, I got to thinking about maybe doing the Brierman Sprint distance in early October.  I don’t really want to do the 50 but the Sprint is actually nearly an Olympic in bike and the run, so I thought this would offer enough of a challenge for me.  Also the event will be really close to home as I live 10 miles from Greenbrier SP, so no real travel expenses to think about.  Therefore, I decided to preview the course today 8/24.  Now the website says the following about the bike course when you click on the Event Summary link: bike course is hilly with some rolling segments”.  Then when you click on courses 21 miles (34K) – gently rolling hills with a few technical turns.  Open course (not closed to vehicular traffic). 

Well, I had not clicked on the Event Summary page last night and just clicked the other so I knew where this was at. I came to find that the first statement is more correct than the other and is even a bit of an understatement. Now, I didn’t ride out of the park as I know that’s a bit of a hill to start and then come out onto Route 40 to a nice downhill. That’s where I picked it up at. Zooming downhill coming up to Crystal Falls Road and that’s a sharp right turn. Then mostly rolling with a few steeper climbs on Crystal Falls. This road is a bit rough at spots, winding here and there, offering short to not so short climbs along it. Coming down the last hill on this road to the next turn on Federal Lookout, one has to be careful to cut speed and not miss this turn. Hopefully, there will be people directing but it may be a problem to go through to the stop sign if you’re not careful. Turn onto Federal Lookout you’ve cut your speed for the turn and have to go uphill! It’s a bit gradual but it’s still a hill. Then you come down a short hill and merge onto 17/Wolfsville Road. Hopefully, there’s folks stopping traffic here as there’s no shoulder and you also can’t see the traffic coming from the left.

Now the REAL FUN starts! I looked at the road ahead of me going up South Mountain! And did it ever go up! Over the next mile and a half, I climbed approximately 550 ft!! Now, I’m not a good climber and as I’m hitting the higher numbers on my heart rate monitor I’m thinking “No way I can do this on my tri bike!” I mean I have a triple chainring on my road bike and I’m in the lowest gear (the granny). Finally, I’m over the top and I’m concerned that the same steepness is on the other side. Fortunately, going down is a lot more gradual with a nice downhill section coming into Wolfsville. The ride on Pleasant Walk is okay with more rollers and short climbs, but the road is better than Crystal Falls. At the end, turn right to again climb the mountain a bit on Route 40. But once you finish this last climb, you’re rewarded with a downhill all the way into the park.

The climb over South Mountain has got me thinking twice now about doing this race.  I have a few more weeks to decide, but I wanted to give everyone here a preview of what they might be getting themselves into if they are considering this race.  Personally, I thought the climb for Diamond in the Rough was easier.  I did that one on my tri bike.  This I wouldn’t consider.  If I do end up doing this, I’ll put some short aerobars on my road bike for the parts I can zoom on just to get a bit more aero.  But, then I’ll definitely use the triple (and then maybe even my 27 cog for my cassette) for that climb.

BTW, the folks doing the 50 have to do this loop TWICE!  I’m sorry.  Can’t imagine doing that climb twice.  More power to ya. 

I’ll see about previewing the run course and do another post.

“Race Report” Dave

Race Report – Iron Girl, Columbia, MD

August 24, 2008

Format: .62mile/17.5mile/3.3mile

This year was my first Iron Girl. It started on Saturday, as the day prior we were required to pick up our packets and rack our bikes. Quite a streamlined process, but pretty uneventful so there’s nothing to report, no funny stories. Coach didn’t want to find parking, so with him waiting curbside, I didn’t even bother to look inside the expo area. I would’ve just spent money which I don’t need to spend. We headed over to Centennial Lake to rack up. That too was uneventful, but a little discomforting leaving my bike behind. ***I just have to mention that all of our eventful moments were earlier in the day as coach raced – and got 1^st 30+ at the Race Ave Crit in downtown Lancaster, PA!***

The alarm went off Sunday at 4:15am. (We are so mean to our kids – dragging them out of bed at crazy hours, making them wander around race courses, using port-a-potties…I can hear my 4 y/o whining “But Mom, I don’t wanna use the porky potties…!”.) Anyway, we arrived at the site at 5:45am. Once learning that if you park inside park you can’t leave until after 12 or 1, coach pulled an unannounced U-Turn at the entrance – well, after kicking me & all my race associated crap out of the car. Not sure how well all that went over. We didn’t know how long we’d stay afterwards, but we at least wanted the opportunity to head home if the mood struck us.

Getting into transition, I was relieved to see my bike. I actually had a good location from all entrances & exits. Plus, I wasn’t too far down the row, so I could zip in & out nicely. I guess the larger races really jam pack the bikes in, leaving little more than a legal document size space to place your gear. Got set up and had a few practice runs from the swim & bike ins to find my spot. Now all I had to do was wait for my wave to start.

Soon enough it was my turn. The water temp was recorded at 83, but felt cooler than that. We had to tread water for about 4-5 minutes, packed like sardines. I didn’t hear the actual race start, the Aflac Quack, but I just started swimming when everyone else did. Boy, was it tight in there. You couldn’t help kicking, hitting, bumping others – it was so murky you couldn’t see the hand in front of you, let alone a whole other person. After the first 2 turns, it thinned out and you could find your own water. I felt pretty good, settling into a nice pace. I caught some women from the previous wave, and wasn’t caught by the wave after me – so all was good.

Out of the water and onto the bike. I had a bit of a time getting it off the rack. With my seat so much higher than the transition racks and neighboring bikes and items packed right along side of me, I had to move a few things so I could adequately tip my bike to the side to get it out. During this time, I also noticed a strange feeling in my belly – it was nausea, but almost the sea sick kind. I had heard about this, but was the first time I had it happen to me. No time to dwell, off and running to the mount line.

The bike started out benign, but after the first turn, the fun started and not in a good way. The course was not closed and I was really surprised at the amount of traffic coming through. I had a minivan on my butt for about a 1 mile. Even with forward progress, everytime I looked back it was right there and too close for comfort. With a lot of riders not necessarily riding on their right, I wasn’t able to really get over enough to let him pass. I tried announcing there was a car back, hoping individuals would move right so I could move over too, but no such luck. The van eventually passed, but then I got stuck behind it. Bunched up riders on the right and the van braking all the time, made for a very frustrating time. Finally, at the traffic circle, it had to stop and I got out of the mayhem. I was free and clear for a good chunk of time so I clipped away, swung through the turnaround, and headed back in. It was at this time that I hit some good rollers and was really cruising. I crested a small roller off a turn, looking ahead and what in front of my wondering eyes did appear, but a car stopped on course, straddling the yellow line. Trying to go around the cyclists on the right, but pushing ever closer to the riders on the other side of the road, the car was stuck. And there was I, swinging wide ready to fly – suddenly jamming on the brakes and all but had to put a foot down. I had to wait for a break in the packs of riders to slide along the driver’s side of the car. Ok, that made me mad, but I came through unscathed so you just carry on. I did hear from some in later waves that the amount of traffic worsened as the morning wore on. Rolled into transition, dismounted, ran the bike down the hill – which must have been comical. I don’t run so well down hill, let alone while guiding my bike. Racked and swapped out shoes and on to the run.

The run was nice and I felt unusually good right off the bat. The course was a little hilly, but shady and no traffic. I was moving along okay, but shortly before mile 2 I was starting to really fatigue. Once at the 2 mile mark, I was talking myself through it, but I was hurting. It’s amazing how many people from this point on cheer “you are almost there!” However, after the 15^th person said that, I said, “you know, people keep telling me that, but it’s never there.” So coach was about the 20^th person to yell “you are almost there”, but since I could hear the music, he must be right. I saw my kids sitting along the side cheering for me so I tried to reward their squeals with a little kick to the finish. I’ll pay for that tomorrow. I ran across the chip pad, slowed up a bit and the guy said “you’re not done, you have 40 more yards.” AGH – I had to cross another set of pads – what a cruel joke. Foaming at the mouth, some nice lady is trying to put a medal around my neck while another is taking off my timer. I stumble away looking for water and an even nicer lady says “stop here for your photo.” The look in my eye must have said, “you have got to be kidding me”, because she then added, “if you don’t mind.” I’m a good sport and obliged, but I really thought I could hurl right then and there. In case you were wondering, I didn’t.

Overall it was a good day. The weather could not have been better. And, though I was a little disappointed in my run time, I did well. You can view the results here. I finished 12^th overall and 3^rd in my age group at 1:37:59, missing 2^nd by just 0:16. Coach got a few pics. Unconfirmed data, but I heard that 2250 registered for the race, ~1900 showed up and ~1600 finished.

Even with a good result, I kinda feel like packing it in for the season. I do think that I will still do

Gino’s Race in Hanover next month, and maybe Brierman Sprint in October, then it’s the Trail Run over in Linganore Vineyards in November… Okay, it looks like I’m really not packing my season in until November. But I will start considering any/all offers for Oktoberfest!

i am looking for car poolers for trip to Smtih Mountain on 9/19 to do Big Lick international …

Well, fellow Tribe members, plenty of not so great news in this race report.  Why?  To sum my performance up in a nutshell – DNF (that is, Did Not Finish).  Yeah, you race long enough and it’s bound to happen.  Does to the pros all the time.  And there’s more ugly news in this report than usual.  But, let’s start at the beginning.

 

For those that are unfamiliar with this event, it used to be an Olympic distance event hosted by CGI Racing and run out of North East, Maryland.  This year they added a Sprint roughly half of the Olympic.  So, if you’re looking for these distances that’s close to home and easy to get to, this is such an event.  It’s only a little less than 2 hours away from Frederick, just northeast of Baltimore and it’s right off of I-95.  CGI does a pretty good job at running the event with a small prerace expo and free stuff (water bottle, swim tote bag) given out by some of the folks. 

 

Like I said above, they added a Sprint distance in addition to the Olympic.  Since I didn’t go the entire race, I don’t really have an opinion on whether this worked or not.  Not to slight newbies here (we all start out as one), but folks tend to crowd up during Sprint distances on the bike.  And there are various bikes out there competing, so there’s always a bit more inadvertent blocking.  So I was a bit concerned about this going into the race.  The course for the Sprint was mostly the same as the Olympic, just that each was cut in half.  From what I could tell, this did seem to work okay for everyone.

 

The transition area was first come, first served in your row of numbers.  So, you could pick a spot in the row instead of having to go to one you were assigned to.  I actually like that a little better as you’re not quite as crowded it seemed.  I was half way in between the bike out/in and the run out, so I thought that gave me an even chance no matter what.  And I got there early enough to get a half decent spot close to the end of the row.

 

As I said in last year’s report, we had to walk about 3-4 blocks to the transition area as there’s no parking allowed in the park itself.  This is one of the few things I don’t really like about this event.  It makes it difficult to go back for items that you may have forgotten and you had to haul everything including your bike in during the morning.  And of course, I forgot something and had to go back. 

 

BTW, on registration day, met up with Tribe members Dan Pfeil and Jason Senuta.  This was their first time at this event and I gave them a few tips that I learned from last year.  Then I met up with Mike Matney as I had brought his bike with me and we worked out meeting/time place for the next day.  Then I drove the bike course just to see if anything had changed.  Last year, there were holes in the road on this one section of the course.  This year, those were filled but there were still a good number of rough areas that I had to be aware of.  As I remembered, the bike course consisted of lots of rollers and curves.  But, it’s not really a slow course per se.  There are no real tough climbs and the hills are gradual but long.  So, you’re not really tuckered going and there are some nice downhills to hit the high gears with.  The run course is the same as the first part of the bike with the long hills.

 

Race day.  Weather was near perfect and was to stay that way.  Finally, an event with no rain, little wind, and nice conditions.  Looking out over the swim race course, the water is calm.  I was thinking what a nice day this was and the promise a decent event for me.  After the last three in either rain or heat, I thought I deserved one with decent weather.  The water temp the day before was said to be 76.  But, on race day, 78.8.  No wetsuits.  A good number of folks donned them anyway and decided to be safe though that meant they wouldn’t be in the AG scores.  The Sprint waves went first followed by the Olympics.  I was in the third wave in the Olympic and this meant 35 min after the start of the race.  Actually, this worked out okay in some ways.

 

Swim start is in the water and the course is basically and out and back with a dogleg left turn to the finish.  I knew from last year that I needed to focus on something over to the finish rather than the buoys coming back as last year I got confused between the two sets of buoys. So, I found a channel post that I was going to use to sight off of when I rounded the second turn buoy. 

 

When the horn sounds, I try to catch feet.  The water is very murky and I can’t see anything but my arms/hands.  I do hold onto a few feet for a while, but when I look up to sight, I find I’m heading right badly.  Well, that throws me off and I try to regain.  I realize at one point that I’m going out too fast and try to relax a bit more.  I still see a lot of my wave with me so I don’t think I’m doing too bad at first.  But, after I sight again, I realize I can’t see.  A mistake I made here is not to clear my goggles.  So, I’m stopping far too much on the first leg to see where I’m going.   Knowing this is causing me to lose my composure too.  As I finally round the second turn buoy, I really can’t see anything.  I finally clear my goggles and can see all!  I see the channel post and start to go for it.  Soon I see the yellow left turn buoy and I get a rush of anticipation to finish.  I’m really plugging I think and I pass a few people though the wave behind has caught me too.  I finally touch bottom and walk out of the water, grateful that the swim was over.  I really don’t like to feel that way, but it was a tough one today and I know I just made it tougher on myself than I really needed to be.  My time was 38:22, 2 min slower than last year and this looks like my HIM time.  Ugh.  Funny thing was that I was in the middle of my AG.

 

The run to T1 is long here but I’m jogging smartly and not cramping.  Now something for everyone to remember is to always check your Bike In/Out and Run Out areas from transition.  We had some Sprint folks running to us as we were coming in from the swim.  They had apparently not checked the transition area to see that the run was an immediate left after the transition area.  We got them squared away and turned around when it was obvious they were confused.

 

T1 goes okay for me and I complete it in 1:23.  This could’ve been faster as I had a little bit of difficulty getting in my shoes.  But overall, it went fairly well.

 

Okay, off on the bike and time to catch all those folks ahead of me in the swim (once again).  Climb the first hill and set off on the first downhill.  This is where it all starts to fall apart.   Shift into the 11 cog on the cassette.  A grating metal sound starts coming from the back wheel!  This is bad.  I don’t see anything obvious but I’m pretty sure it’s the cassette coming loose.  I downshift to climb another hill and everything is working better.  I upshift to go down the next hill and the grating sound is back!  Now I’m having some difficulty pedaling and the wheel is starting to stick.  I downshift and slow finding a place to pull over.  Take off the wheel and the cassette pops off.  I examine it and see that the first few cogs have rubbed part of their teeth off where they fit into the hub.  So, the gears are slipping.  Also, for some reason, the cassette top screw isn’t holding.  I try to put it back on and do get it connected.  I decide to limp back to a decision point here in the course.  I make that turn and stop.  With a bad cassette, I can’t realistically hope to finish.  And if the wheel freezes or something breaks, I could get hurt.  I think “I can’t finish”.  I hang my head on my bars and sigh.  But this is for the best.  I limp back in low gear and find a timing guy who gives me a ride back.  It was difficult for me to hand him my timing chip and hear him radio back that I’ve dropped out.  Once back in transition, I see the Sprinters finishing and the group of folks I was with coming into transition from the bike.  I pack up my gear, get my bike, and head back to the car.

 

Now, I come back to hopefully cheer on my fellow Tribe mates.  I find Jason and Dan at the finish already and I think that maybe I’ll stick around to see Mike finish.  Well, after a while, no Mike.  So, I think maybe he’s eating and head over with Dan and Jason.  Hmm. Still no Mike.  I go to transition and see his bike’s there and it looks like he already finished as his running shoes are there as well.  After a while, results are posted.  Mike is not on the list anywhere!  Now, while I was waiting for my ride back, I had heard of a crash on the course.  Remembering this, I finally go to the EMT area and ask if they remember the name of the person who crashed.  Yup, it was Mike.  A friend of Mike’s doing the duathlon at Lum’s Pond that day is there and we quickly find out info where Mike’s at.  Then we go and gather his gear.  I hadn’t really looked at his bike before to notice his shoes aren’t in the pedals.  Then the back wheel has leaves in the cassette and part of the carbon rim is crunched!  We get his gear and head off to the hospital.  Once there, Mike is sitting up and seems okay for the experience.  No broken bones and no stitches.  Mostly just a lot of scrapes, cuts, and bad bruise on his left thigh. 

 

Mike and I examined where his crash occurred and he figures he lost control while going over a manhole cover.  This is while coming downhill at 20 mph before a sharp right turn and he was switching his hands in preparation for the turn.  Apparently hit the manhole cover when switching his hands.  He kinda recovers but he’s in very awkward position and can’t reach his brakes to stop.  And he sees he will crash into a police car shortly if he can’t .  So, he choses to going into the ditch beside the road instead.  Next thing he knows, he’s looking up at a flashlight being held by an EMT.  The sad part is that he was 250 yards from the transition area. 

 

So with a feeling of disappointment, we make the trip back and hope for a better race next year.   

 

If nothing else, this is a big lesson learned to check always check your gear and never switch out equipment the day prior to a race.  That’s what I had done as I still had my 12-27 cassette on the back I used for Musselman.  I needed that there.  But, I wanted my 11-26 for this course as I knew it would work better for the long rollers.  I spin too much in the 12 going downhill and with the 11, I could still power downhill to build with some momentum and carry me through the small rollers.  The 26 would still carry me uphill without having to stand quite as much.  That decision cost me this race. 

 

Ending this report on a more positive note, Jason Senuta finished 4^th in his AG and Dan Pfeil finished strong in the same AG as well.  Congrats to them!!

 

 

Hey Tribe!  I get updates on this one web page and this is a pretty interesting drill if not an interesting possible variation on freestyle.  I actually think I’ve been accidentally doing this a bit.  If you’ve been watching the Olympics, you may have seen a bit of this actually being done.  Check the drill and discussion out at this page:

http://www.goswim.tv/entries/5398/freestyle—loper-drill.html

I might actually see about doing this for longer distances.  Let you know how that turns out.

Dave

Hey Tribe!  I was reading Wendy’s blog and she had a recent article from the NY Times which covered trying to find a link between recent deaths during triathlons this year.  Interestingly enough, they all occurred on the swim.  Read on:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/fashion/28fitness.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

If this article has faded from the link, you might try searching on “NY Times recent triathlon ”

Hmm, you may want to have yourself checked out just in case.

Dave