Steelman OLY
3337
Member
1325 days
RV posted 1 year ago.
Great when it all comes together!
RV
It takes a long time to get good. - Scott Molina
Slow is smooth; smooth is fast. - Rich Strauss
223
Member
659 days
JRH posted 1 year ago.
wow fantastic improvement! yesterday was an excellent day to race. and fantastic bike time for such a hilly course
proud and high or low and humble - many miles before I go
http://www.insidetri.com/portal/blogs/blog.asp?strSession=60050327224390...
46
Member
393 days
kxux posted 1 year ago.
Great race Garen. I started in the same wave, but I did finish little behind you (about 11 minutes). But hey it was my first tri ever so I'm happy with the race results. It was a great event and Dale had it very nicely organized. Weather was great what else could we wish for. I'm sure this will be on my list of races next year so I can compare how much improvement I make in a year.
I do another race in the same place in 4 weeks - Quakerman half ironman. That should be fun as the curse takes us all around the lake and I really enjoy riding there.
612
Member
950 days
gfd posted 1 year ago.
kxux,
Thanks man. Great job for your first race. It is very well organized. You are going to like the half. I will be there as well. I am doing the mini.
770
Member
749 days
cayman posted 1 year ago.
that was a fantastic race, gfd-- that's gotta feel good. Congrats and good luck with the rest of your training for Chesapakeman.
john
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
46
Member
393 days
kxux posted 1 year ago.
Garen,
I came across your 2006 report and it looks like you did the half last year. How was it? Was the organization as good as the Steelman? What about the swim - were the wetsuits allowed back then? Just trying to get a feel for how I need to train for the next few weeks - I did swim with wetsuit thus illegal in my first race. Next time I want to stay legal and extend the lenght of my freestyle swim. This time I went out too fast and had to swim breast stroke and back stroke for a very long time which made my swim quite long. Although I was still passing some slower swimmers when I resorted to breast stroke. But I know I can do better.
Jan
100
Member
392 days
wirebook posted 1 year ago.
I agree with others - I thought this race was awesome. Because I'm a slacker I haven't gotten around to putting together a race report yet - but the amount of free stuff they gave out afterwards was amazing. It was literally impossible to not come away with something worthwhile after the race. I ended up getting a big container of Heed, and tons of other folks got lots of stuff.
I drove up from DC (about 3 hours) and stayed at one of the nearby campgrounds, definitly worth the trip and I would recommend it for anyone within three hours of the location. Incredibly well organized and a great fully closed course. The bike course was awesome with lots of great rollers, and the run was thankfully all nearly undercover in a nice running path through the trees.
The only bummer was I somehow missed the turn for the second loop on the 10K (oly) and ran about an extra 60 seconds towards the water when someone said "Hey, the finish is this way!" and I responded with "But I still have another loop", to which they responded with a scared look and then quick instructions to backtrack 30 or so seconds. Doh.
Oh well, I was still fairly happy with my performance - and it was only my second tri. Maybe on the plane in the next day or so I'll get around to writing a race report.
__________________
http://dcrainmaker.blogspot.com
-Ray
-Ray
Tri Blog: Http://dcrainmaker.blogspot.com
612
Member
950 days
gfd posted 1 year ago.
Jan,
Sorry I missed your post back on the 13th and didn't respond. I know it is a little late now.
Last year the half was wetsuit legal. It is a two loop swim but you do not get out of the water after the first loop.
The bike course takes you around the lake 3 times. It has more hills than the OLY, including a really tough, but relatively short climb on rt. 313. The bike course is also open to traffic.
The run follows the biginning of the OLY course, but then takes you out onto the main road for a nice climb in the sun. The forecast for Sat. is 85 and sunny. It is a two loop run with 2 aid stations.
The organization is not nearly what Steelman is. There has been no communication from the organizors since I registered. Most Lehigh Valley residents have no idea it is even going on this weekend because they do not advertise much at all. Last year they changed the race day from Sun. to Sat. and I was not informed. I got lucky and saw it on the Tri Calendar. It is a good course though and worth doing especially given how close it is.
Good luck and maybe I will see you on Sunday.
46
Member
393 days
kxux posted 52 weeks ago.
Garen,
thanks for the follow-up. No worries about responding few weeks after the original post. I did check this thread only today. Can't wait until tomorrow. Just finished my last short brick - 30 minutes (20 bike, 10 run) and I'm all ready to go out. The weather will be brutal and I may use the salt tablets I got during the Steelman. It will be 90 and humid so the run will be especially grueling - the long stretch on 563 will be fun - no shade there.
I'm sure we will run into each other. I'll be in the 35-39 age group line up and I ride black Specialized Transition S-Works with Mavic wheels and for this race I'm taking my new shiny pointy hat as one of my friends calls it (new aero helmet). I realized the course is open to traffic only few days ago. It does not scare me though as I was riding around the lake pretty much every weekend for at least 2 hours. The climb on 313 is pretty steep, but the good thing is that it is down and up so you can pick up good speed on descend and keep it as long as you can on the other side. I like that hey fixed the South Park Rd. it was pretty bad few months ago and now there is only one hole and one bump (that I always hit).
Good luck tomorrow and if you feel like it give me a call on my cell 610 570 9349. I plan to be there at 7am for the packet pickup.
Jan
612
Member
950 days
gfd posted 52 weeks ago.
Jan,
I will be there around 8:30. I'll look for you before the beginning of your race. I will be sporting the black trifuel singlet and the bald head.
Thanks for the info about the course. I didn't get to ride the course this summer.
Good luck tomorrow.
I had as close to a perfect race yesterday as I could hope for.
I had been eagerly anticipating this race this year to compare my fitness level to last year. I am nearing the end of my first ironman training program and was also anxious to see how the heavy volume and weekly bricks would contribute to my performance.
It was a beautiful morning to race. I was in the first wave that went off at 7:00. The water temp. was 80. I was pumped that there were no wetsuits allowed because I panicked in last year's race, my first ever tri, and wanted to mentally redeem myself. I am fine in open water with a wetsuit. I started near the back and felt comfortable and strong. There were a few collisions but nothing major. I finished the swim in 31 minutes. That is as fast as I can go. Almost 13 minutes faster than last year.
I was extremely pumped and sprinted to T1.
The bike course is 2 loops on a rolling course. I passed quite a few people and felt very strong on the first loop. I was a little too aggressive and slowed slightly on the uphill portions of the second loop. I still felt very strong and was able to dig a little deeper seeing my wife, daughter, and son 3 times on the course. It was the first time they have seen me race in a tri. I ended up averaging 21.4 on the bike. Almost 3 minutes faster than last year.
Last year I thought I would dominate when I got off the bike. Instead I ended up crushed by what the bike and swim did to my stomach and legs. It was humbling. This year I took off from the beginning and felt great for almost the enteire 10K. I had a two minute stretch where I felt drained, but it passed completely. I ran what felt like even splits (no mile markers) and finished the run in 41:11. Almost 9 minutes faster than last year.
Final time was 2:25:43. One of the best feelings ever after a race. I felt like a raced to my potential and I felt tired but great afterward. Minimal soreness today. I also did the race without tapering from my IM program. I had completed a 90 mile bike on Tuesday and a 19 mile run on Wedenesday. In my racing history I have had some of my best times at the end of a high volume week.
I have another tune up tri the second weekend in Sep. and Chesapeakeman in 6 weeks. This race was just what I needed to get me through the last few weeks of high volume training.