July 25-26. What can we say about this weekend? It's LP. It's typically the biggest event on the BTT schedule, not only because of people racing....but also volunteering, spectating and training. Like IM Switzerland, once I have some race reports and pictures, I'll do a separate race report posting, specifically for this race. But, first I need the writeups! So, please get those to me. Also, I know those of you who raced are still recovering...but I need for you to POST YOUR RESULTS!!!! I promise that typing your results will not cause much post race stress on your already fatigued bodies:) As of today, only 2 have posted. Long time member, Evan Israelson, came out of the witness protection program to race LP once more! We haven't seen much of Evan lately, but he must have been training as he put forth an impressive 14:46 ironman. Also, Austin resident (more on that later), Mike Williams put in a solid 12:14 ironman...even though he'll readily admit that he didn't heed my advice to take it easy on the bike....especially the back section of the first loop. I'd call it a rookie mistake, but this is Mike's second ironman!!! Regardless...it was a great effort...on what is considered one of the toughest ironman courses. As I mentioned, Mike is heading to Austin, Texas with his wife, Lynn, to start a new job. Good luck Mike! We'll miss you! 2010 figures to be an epic year at LP for BTT, with over 20 people racing. LP was not the only race of the weekend. Some of us stayed local....to compete in the inaugural Marlborough Triathlon and the Massachusetts State Triathlon. In Marlborough, Scott Stavely finished an impressive 2nd Overall Amateur...way to go Scott! Also racing, with solid performances, were Brett Johnston and David Welch. In Winchendon, we had 4 BTTers racing....Jim Sweeney and Katie O'Dair (not the swim portion of a relay...but the whole thing!!!) raced the sprint, and Pat Dwyer (me) and Glen Cote in the International Distance. I finished 2nd Overall (trying to run 6 miles hard the day after a 100 mile bike is not fun) in my race and Katie finished 2nd in her AG. I realize that I'm breaking my own rule here by posting Katie's result...since she didn't post it on the BTT website! But, in my defense, she did send me a race report:
I know it has been awhile (a few years) since I have written a triathlon race report. But I will use any excuse to write a race report (recall the time when I didn't actually race but wrote a report anyway) so you go. While many friends and teammates were racing at Lake Placid this weekend or doing other adventures which required hours upon hours of time, I chose to do the relatively obscure Massachusetts State Triathlon in Winchendon on Sunday for my triumphant return to the sport. I wanted to see my sister Liz and convinced her that it would be fun to meet in the middle and do the race, so she signed up too. So off I went to the middle of Massachusetts early on a Sunday morning. Even though I had made a cup of coffee for the ride, I was jolted awake by a sign in Leominster that said "Birthplace of Johnny Appleseed." It seemed too early in the morning for my world to be rocked but the truth is I am from Ohio and I always thought Mr. Appleseed was from Ohio. I made mental note not to get too upset and to look it up later. My hope for anonymity was quickly dashed when I pulled into the parking lot and Pat Dwyer pulls in next to me. He seemed equally shocked to see me at a triathlon, and I explained that hey, just like Lance, you have to start your comeback somewhere. He then quoted LL Cool Jay, saying "don't call it a comeback..." and I knew the day would be interesting. So then I see Jim Sweeney, Glen Cote, and the rest of the 600 people who apparently didn't get the memo about small, obscure race.
I also saw a woman with a t-shirt that said "I don't do triathlon; I do triathlete." That's a creepy t-shirt slogan, imho. She was pushing a baby carriage, too. So Liz and I set things up in transition and headed down to check out the swim. There was a sprint race and an intermediate race, so both swims were marked. They looked decent, not too short. We goofed for awhile at people who were carrying huge buckets of water to set up in transition. You see, the transition was through a field of wet grass, not sand or gravel. God forbid a blade of grass gets on your shoes. Anyway, off we went on the swim. Believe it or not, I sprinted this, trying to be true to the name of the race. As some of you know, after my mom gave birth to me and the doctor came around to have her select certain traits for her new baby she decided not to check the "fast twitch muscles" item. I don't think they do that anymore in hospitals, btw. So the mens wave went 4 minutes ahead and by the first bouy I was swimming with some of the men. I ran into this blind guy searching for the bouy. Well, actually, it was Jim and he forgot his contacts and obviously could not see. He eventually followed some of the pink caps from my wave and made it to shore safely. I had a great swim and then a beautiful and short ride which was rolling but for one hill, at mile 4, that lasted 1.5 miles and it was steep. Everyone on the climb seemed to know about it but because I never read the race info I had no idea. Better that way. I was still holding my own at the start of the run but we all know what happens next - yep, got passed by 4 people on the run. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Halfway through I was passed by this woman in my age group, she was strong yet so supportive and encouraging that I held on nearly until the end. It was great sportsmanship and I thanked her later. Ended up second in my age group, very happy with that. I attribute this to the fact that lots of people were up at Lake Placid this weekend! Liz had a great race, she is becoming a regular on the tri circuit racing consecutive weekends this summer. Pat got second overall in the intermediate race, looking strong even though he did a 100 mile ride yesterday. Jim (sprint) and Glen (intermediate) both had great races, and it was fun to hang out with them a bit. Dave Marinofsky was there with his Pure Madness and if his business is any indication, the economy is picking up. All in all, a very fun race and fun day. And in case you are wondering, I looked up the Johnny Appleseed thing. He was indeed born in Leominster under the name of John Chapman, however he got the name Johnny Appleseed in Ohio in 1800 when he used a pack horse to bring seeds to the Licking River. Now go and tell someone you learned something today!Lastly, I'll leave you with an Ironman Switzerland race report from Marybeth Begley, who travelled long and far for her first ironman distance. I met MB in 2006 while competing at the 5 Star Sprint Tri in Douglass, MA. It was her first triathlon...and she was scared to death about the swim. Look at her now! She's a seasoned vet and ironman finisher! Way to go MB!
Ironman Switzerland – July 12, 2009
The crew: Brian and Michelle Quigley, Rachel and Jeff Aronis, Alan White, Jamie Strain, Mark Vautour (Landrys), Lauren Scafidi (QT2) and me. Nancy Arena raced the Zuri Olympic Triathlon on Saturday, July 11th and was our support and cheerleader the entire day for IM Switzerland.
I’ll focus mostly on the race but traveling to Switzerland was part of the whole experience and cannot be overlooked. From the flight over (most of us were on the same flight) to going separate ways on Tuesday after the race. With the exception of The Quigleys we all stayed at the same hotel so we were together a lot. I can’t imagine a better group of people to travel with and do my first Ironman.
We helped each other drag bike boxes and luggage on and off the trains (Jeff directed us) and then walked from the train to the hotel. Only one casualty … an outdoor table got knocked out during our march to the hotel.
We met some great folks from England, ran into Team Psycho racers and practically joined a new Pirate team but we decided just to steal their motto……aaarrrrgggghhh.
We had some great pre-race fun like five of us renting a Fiat and driving the bike course. We got a little lost (but we had an IPHONE), got stuck in some construction and lifted the Fiat off of the ground which meant I finally got some lifting in my schedule.
Nancy and Jamie (yes he raced both Sat and Sun) raced the Olympic distance on Saturday and we had some great fun cheering them on during the run portion. It definitely helped keep my mind off of my race.
Race Day:
4:00 a.m. for breakfast
5:00 a.m. for taxi
5:15 a.m. – 6:45 a.m. Lots of visiting the port-o-potties, they flush in Zurich. This IM is also old school as you keep everything at your bike – no swim to bike and bike to run transition bags.
7:00 a.m. Race Start. Although I felt the Swiss were very specific in the Pre-Race Meeting about how the race would begin and all the notifications (in-water start), I found myself with Michelle just barely in the water when we noticed that everyone was swimming and we looked at each other and said “I guess we should go” oh well, what’s another 25 or so yards when you are swimming 2.4 mi.
Its two loops, first is a rectangle, then a triangle and the first loop is shorter.
The buoys at the turns were huge but the ones in-between were the size of apples. We certainly got kicked around but we all made it out of the water safely.
I think I added about a minute to my T1 time because I was in a little shock at all the naked male bodies around me. I know its Europe but I was still a little shocked. This race was about 2,000 men and 300 women.
The Bike: We drove the bike course so I was prepared. The first 17 miles (of a two loop course) or so were flat. I had no idea that there were so many people behind me in the swim; I got passed by so many bikers. After mile 17 I knew what was in store for me…The Beast …. And this is where we got stuck so it put a smile on my face as I approached the “spot”. The views were spectacular but there is a reason why it was called the Beast. The downhills were technical and in about 4 areas, they did not allow the aero position.
Then the next climb… the climb to Forch… it never ended, long, slow and gradual. After that we headed back to Zurich. I knew that there was one more hill called “Heartbreak Hill” but we didn’t drive this one. I knew it was at the end of the loop but I’m at mile 50 or so and thought maybe we had already done it and it wasn’t so bad. I was delusional.
I turned a corner and started a climb then turned another corner and another climb then saw hundreds of spectators screaming and yelling my name while climbing more and I thought I was in the Tour de France. It was another tough climb but it was exciting. The Olympic distance got Heartbreak Hill 3x.
After the first loop, I decided just to slow it down on the flats and try and save my legs.
Drafting during the bike wasn’t enforced during the race and probably my only complaint about the race.
The Run: They say you need to prepare for anything in an IM and I definitely recognized that anything could happen. But I was surprised that as soon as I got off of the bike, I was sick to my stomach (I think I was expecting flat tires). Anyway, I thought flat coke would cure it, it didn’t and I couldn’t take down any food during the run. It really was run/walk but everyone was suffering and I was thrilled that I finished.
The run was a flat, 4 loops and so I was expecting to see the gang constantly but the configuration was a little strange but I did manage to see folks. I saw Jeff a few times where he always gave me more direction (he knew the exact distance between the aid stations), Alan called me out even when some trees were blocking views, Brian was always asking about Michelle. I was so excited when I saw Rachel that I forgot I was sick for a while. I saw Mark 3 or 4 times and we had one interesting exchange where he thought I was going to quit. Nancy was there on every loop taking pictures and cheering us all on.
“Lap control” gave you a wrist band in a different color on every loop and you knew that the red meant that folks were on their last loop and there was a lot of “red bracelet envy” but when you finally got that red bracelet (we called it the Golden Ticket) the pace got slightly faster.
I was the last of the crew to finish and despite the hour, everyone was there for me at the end and I couldn’t have been happier. After pictures, a shower and a massage, we rode our bikes back to the hotel (it was only 1.8 miles). A few of us made a pit stop for a bottle of champagne since we felt we needed to rest during our 1.8 mile ride.
Post Race: We all felt really great the next day, had an amazing group dinner together on Monday evening and then some shots with our British friends. On Tuesday folks started to go separate ways i.e. Prague, the Matterhorn, Lucerne. After some day trips, Lauren, Sara (Lauren’s friend), Nancy and I headed to Colmar, France for Stage 13 of the Tour de France. Even though it was the rainy stage and we got a little lost on our rented bikes, we had a great time. Before the start of Stage 14 we were able to see (up close and personal) Mark Cavendish, Noccentini (sp?) – the yellow jersey wearer at that point, and Tom Boonen (before he retired) and several others. The Tour was really exciting and great way to end the adventure.
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