Week in Review: 8/19 - 8/25

Happy almost Labor Day, BTT! Triathlon season is winding down, but that didn't keep us from a great weekend of racing!

The Tent Series Cranberry Triathlon Festival brought much blue and green down to Lakewood, MA. Athletic Director Matt Pokress and Bethany Edwards raced the Olympic, where both had good races. Matt placed 2nd in his age group and 7th overall. The crowd for the sprint was a little larger, with competitors Rachel Saks Aronis, Jimmy Ellis, Carlo Jacob, Chrissie Flashner, Kelly Jackson and Steve Sian. Extra congrats to Rachel for taking 2nd in her AG and Jimmy for taking 3rd in his. Ask Jimmy about what shoes he raced in after leaving his sneakers at home!

We had a good crew head up to Old Orchard Beach for the half Rev3, where Meg MacSwan took 2nd AG and 8th overall, Lauren Bonaca took 3rd AG and 9th overall, Ira Sills took 3rd AG, Katelyn Kane 6th, Bill Hafferty 9th  and Jason Soules had a good race, too. BTT relay participants Brian Kearney and Kayle Shapero teamed up to take first in the relay division! 

BTT also represented at a variety of under the radar races! Elaine Metcalf represented down in Medford Lakes, NJ, where she took 1st in her AG at the Medford Lakes Colony Sprint Triathlon. Swimmers Nik Pappastratis, Katie O'Dair and Pat Dwyer raced the Swim and Fin 5K in Salem, MA, where Katie and Nik took 2nd AG and Pat took 1st. Pete Jensen spent some time on his bike during the White Mountains Gran Fondo, a New Hampshire century ride and Bill Reeves took first overall at the DKH, Give it a Tri race in Plainfield, CT. Finally, Terry Reagan raced the laid-back, simple Crane's Beach Triathlon on Friday night. 

Great job, you all! Happy September!

Week in Review: 8/12 - 8/18

Wow, what a great weekend for BTT!

Mark Pelletier and Glen Cote decided to stick around town to race the local Westborough Sprint Triathlon, where they duked it out in their mutual age group. Rookie Andrew Trott also stayed local by taking first place in his age group at the Witch City Triathlon in Salem. Nice job!

A little farther north, BTT dominated Timberman 70.3. Tons of people raced, including Jorge Martinez, Brendan Hall, Brian Kearney, Kayle Shapero, Kiko Verdeguer, Danielle McLaughlin, Jess Douglas, Mary Beth Begley, Brenda Chroniak, Paul Newman and Janice Biederman. Congrats, everyone! Special kudos are due to Jorge and Kayle for qualifying for the 70.3 World Championship next year in Mont Tremblant and to Brenda, Jess and Danielle for their amazing half iron debuts. Mary Beth and Janice also narrowly missed the five-spot podium by taking 6th in their age groups.Check out Janice's race report if you would like to read about her great race, which earned her a PR!

And over the border in Mont Tremblant, Canada, Pat Dwyer, Amy Robinson Greenwood and Nik Pappastratis were busy rocking Ironman Mont Tremblant, where they all had amazing races. This was new member Nik's first Ironman and Pat took a Kona spot by placing 7th in his age group (and, while we're counting, it was his 9th Ironman).

We should all be so proud of BTT for weekends like this! Congrats to all of you!

Janice Biederman Timberman 70.3 Race Report

 Janice Biederman 

Timberman 70.3 

Race Report

Twenty years ago I did my first half-iron distance tri (FirmMan in Lancaster, MA).  On Sunday, August 18^th, I did my 12^th and I set a PR by 19 minutes for the distance and 25 minutes for the course.  Holy guacamole!

Timberman was my third half this season.  My first, Eagleman (aka, Tough Mudder meets 70.3) was a huge disappointment.  I had bike issues to add to the extremely muddy conditions and set a personal worst.   The second, Musselman (where I also had mechanical issues plus two competitors crashed on the bike course and died), wasn’t much better.  All I wanted at Timberman was to have fun, enjoy the day, and finish my season on a high note.  Mission very much accomplished.

The Swim

I love this swim.  The water is clean and there’s plenty of room for the field to spread out.  Aside from the body surfing necessitated by some really big boat wakes, my swim was relatively uneventful.  I got hit hard 3 times by some Michael Phelps wannabe but I returned the favor-his bruises should be cleared up in a week or so…  I tied my half-IM swim PR (down to the second!).

T1

My transitions are usually pretty leisurely (a nice way of saying slow) but somehow I managed to get in and out fairly fast.  I think bypassing the wetsuit strippers helped me because flopping down on the ground, then trying to get back up wastes time for me.

The bike

The bike felt effortless and I felt awesome.  Even the climbs after mile 40 didn’t bother me. I did have two scares: one testosterone-fueled dude cut back in so soon after passing me that our wheels touched.  Hey guy, you’re not going as fast as you think and I’m not going as slow as you think.  The second scare came from another testosterone-laden dude (sorry, but it usually is the guys who cause problems) who passed on my right on a left-hand turn.  Our bikes were probably 3 inches apart.  That got my heart rate up!!  Anyway, it was a bike course PR for me.

T2

Again, I managed to get in and out pretty fast.  Could this be a trend????

The Run

Ah, the run-always my worst event.  My “run” is so bad, that my run time is often longer than my bike time.  Not this time.  Even though I did my patented shuffle, I shuffled faster than I usually do. I PR’d the run.  Seeing other BTTers on the run just made it all the more fun.  One funny incident to report-pro winner (and all-around nice guy) Andy Potts was standing by the transition fence at the halfway point.  When I went by, he told me that I needed to run more erect and speed up my foot turnover.   Ummm, Andy, it may not look like it, but I’m sprinting right now!! 

The Aftermath

Despite posting my best time ever on the course, I missed the podium for the first time (by 3 minutes).  It truly is all about who shows up on the day.  Anyway, I can always buy maple syrup (the podium finishers’ prize).  I can’t buy a PR. 

This race was satisfying in so many ways.  I had hoped to better my half-IM time but I was realistically thinking in terms of a few minutes.  To set a PR by 19 minutes at the age of 63 is surreal.  Yes, the weather gods were very generous but the distance is still the distance.  Now, of course, I have my mind set on going faster next year.

Week in Review: 8/5 - 8/11

It was another great weekend for BTT!

Saturday brought the Olympic distance USAT Age Group National Championship, which brought Laurie Damianos, Jimmy Ellis, Maggie O'Toole and Bill Reeves to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Bill took 6th in his division, qualifying him for the Age Group World Championship. Apparently Maggie didn't get enough on Saturday, as she went back for the sprint distance race on Sunday! Congrats, all!

Maggie wasn't the only one to race a double header this weekend. On Saturday, Carrie Mosher did her first off road triathlon, the Xterra Stoaked Standard Distance race in Hanover, NH, taking first in her age group. Talk about a nice debut! The next day, she headed down to Oxford, MA, where she took first overall female at the Hodges Village Dam & MA State Championship, a 19 mile mountain bike race. Nice job, Carrie!

The Sharon Triathlon was also on Sunday and, being a tent series race, we had a good showing from racers and volunteers alike. Jen Scalise-Marinofksy took first overall female, Juli Jones Davenport and Paul Newman both took 2nd in their divisions, Ira Sills took 3rd AG, Chris Borges went 4th AG and Bryan Canterbury and Steve Sian both had great races as well.

This weekend is a big one! Let's all send our Timberman, Ironman Mont-Tremblant, Westborough Sprint and Witch City racers off with hearty cheer and fast racing wishes! Good luck this weekend, BTT!

Week in Review: 7/29 - 8/4

Happy August, team!

Noah Manacas kicked off the new month on Friday with the first of three stages of the Tour of the Catskills. Over the weekend, he raced a total of 128 miles, because one day just isn't intense enough! Nice job, Noah!

Sunday was a great day for BTT, with both Kayle Shapero and Pat Dwyer winning their respective races! Kayle took first female and fifth overall at Marshmellow Man, a interestingly named sprint triathlon in Laconia, NH, and Pat took first overall at the Greenfield Lightlife Triathlon, an Olympic distance race in Greenfield, MA.

Meanwhile, we had some racers and volunteers at the Boston Triathlon, representing on our home turf! Trish Kelly raced the whole thing solo, taking fifth in her age group, while Rachel Saks Aronis, Mike Hollywood and Bethany Edwards Crocetti teamed up to take fifth in the relay division. Big thanks are also due to Mary Beth Begley, Katie O'Dair, Laurie Damianos, KC Connolly, Rachel Saks Aronis, Mark Nickerson, Dan Schorr, Sean McCormick, and Maggie O'Toole, who volunteered. 

This weekend brings USAT Nationals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the Sharon Triathlon and Hodges Village Dam and MA State Championships. Good luck to everyone participating!