Race Report: Pocono Mountain 70.3 HIM
So my third triathlon, and the last for this season is in the books. I had deliberated greatly on whether to even participate in this one, since it was 4 weeks out from the Louisville Full Ironman, but in the end decided I couldn’t pass up a HIM so close to home in familiar territory, so I signed up a couple of weeks ago, literally a few days before it closed out. I had shared a bit of my journey with the race director, and to my surprise I was asked to be the “guest weatherman" on the channel 11 news in NYC.
What a great experience it was. I brought my daughter Cassie, and we were brought up to the studios which are in the Daily News building on 42nd st, steps from Grand Central. Waiting in the green room, we met Paul Sorvino (from Goodfellows and a lot of great mobster flicks). It was a really cool experience, and it seemed like the race coordinators were really appreciative. We were also blown away at how nice and hospitable the folks at the station were – totally down to earth, not at all what we were expecting.
The last couple of weeks here in the northeast have had some rough weather. Basically it has rained and rained. I had a feeling early in the week the swim was in trouble, and when more rain came in I was quite sure there was no way the swim was happening. Sure enough, on Friday, they officially canceled the swim. I had already been having trouble getting myself pumped for the race, and this really took the wind out of the sail. With the weather predicting a cold, wet day, I really started thinking I didn’t want to do this. But given I had been on a major TV outlet pitching the race, and I had spent the money, I knew I was going to have to do it. So Saturday, with my son Joel home from college for the weekend, I made the ride down to Stroudsburg, PA to check in and set up T2. It certainly seemed like most of the athletes were thinking like me, that without the swim, it was a bit of a downer. And with the lousy weather.. blah. Then the athletes briefing brought more news, changes in the course due to flooding, including shortening the bike to 55 miles (more on this later). I was starting to feel bad for the race director.
Sunday morning the alarm went off at 3:30AM. Since spectators were not allowed in T1, and there were no viewing areas, it made no sense for anyone to join me, so I made the drive alone. You have to park at T2, which is Stroudburg High School, while the start is at T1, Smithfield beach, about 15-20 minutes drive away via the shuttle busses. Of course it was pouring rain and cold. Just not feeling the mojo. It was to be a time trial start, with riders going off every 3 seconds, in bib number order. Out of 2040 athlete numbers, I was 2016… So I had to wait another 1.5 hours after the “start" before it was my turn, freezing my butt off. At least the rain stopped by then, but I was seriously wondering what the heck I was doing here, and seriously thinking of just calling it a day.
So finally its my turn to get in line and get started. Grabbed the bike, moved toward the mount line. And Wham! Just like that, the adrenaline pumped ferociously, the heart rate went nuts, and the competitive fires exploded. Yea, I was ready, the negative vibes disappeared in an instant, and as I pedaled my first strokes, I wore a big grin and thought, yep, I live for this.
The bike course was insane. I’m used to hills. Its what I train in all the time. But these hills… wow. Right at the start they hit you with some nice quick but steep rollers climbing out of the Delaware River valley, nothing terrible, but enough to get the heart going. I was out of the saddle for at least a couple of the rollers, but more because it was early in the race and I was now thoroughly amped. I did see a few folks walking up those early hills. That said, I assumed the hills would level out for a bit like most courses… but there was NO letup. It was hill after hill after hill. And these were steep. There really weren’t any long sustained climbs, but there were lots of really steep short rollers, and a lot of the time they would come around a tight curve, so you couldn’t really take momentum up them, and on the descents there were also sharp turns, so you couldn’t let it fly and enjoy.
Deep into the bike, there were a few hills that were really steep, and I saw a lot of walkers. On one, everyone in front of me was walking up it. It was steep as can be. I have a compact crank and run an 11:28 cassette, so basically, I have an awesome granny gear. There was NO way I was gonna walk up a hill in an Ironman event – I’d rather pay for it later in the run.. and I did J Actually, the folks walking as I rode by were cheering me on, which was pretty cool, and even one guy at the top acted completely shocked I had rode up – he was like “you RODE up THAT hill?". I thought to myself “duh, it’s a freaking Ironman", but simply replied “yea man, but I should have walked up, cause I’m gonna blow up on the run now… “ Yea, being an arrogant jerk is allowed when you’re an Ironman, but it doesn’t mean I have to do it out loud. J
There were some absolutely amazing views on the bike, and I didn’t mind enjoying them from time to time. I spent very little time in the aeros as I was in constant climb mode, and on most of the descents there were either turns, or else the roads were so rough I wasn’t comfortable staying aero. That said, I felt like I was pushing as hard as I could. I also changed up my nutrition for this event, and used only 1 bottle of pre-made glyco-peak and another bottle I used for water. I went through those two and grabbed one additional bottle of water from one of the aid stations. I took in a gel at 1.5 hours and 2.5 hours. I also used Hammer Anti-Fatigue pills, 2 an hour. I have to say, I felt I nailed the nutrition. Less might be more (in the full and previous races, I did 2 gels an hour on the bike and a lot more glycopeak/Gatorade/perform. So we come to end of the bike, I see the dismount, check my Garmin, and it says 53.3 miles.. a bit short of the 55 they said they shortened it to… and I did it in 3:19. I felt like it was a great bike for me, considering the level of difficulty. I had no stops at all, and felt like I was hammering the whole way – I am sure I was averaging 20+ mph or so on the few flat spots I could get into the aeros, and I know I hit the hills hard. If I had worn a heart rate monitor, I am quite sure my coach would not like it, as I know I was pushing it.
Took my time in T2, changed socks and my shirt, and hit it. With all the rain, it was really muddy at the start, and they have you run around the stadium track to start and then onto the course. As I came out of the stadium into town, saw Steph (my wife) and two of my kids. That was really nice to see and always gives you a jolt. I was testing the legs to see what pace I wanted to go at, first mile was right around 10 min/mile and I felt not so bad. But then the hills. I mean after spending 3+ hours on the bike hitting hill after hill after hill, and have ready the description of the run course as “mostly flat with a few small rollers", the last thing in the world I expected were hills. But yea, there were hills, tough ones. Energy level was just fine, but after the first couple of uphills, my hamstrings started telling me there was no chance I was going to be able to average 10 minute miles J
So I resolved to try and keep a 12 min/mile average or so, via walking up the hills and running the rest. My hamstrings loved that idea. Kept the same nutrition plan going, mostly water, a little perform at every other aid station and I did throw in a half banana at one point. Also used an energy bar instead of a gel. I am pretty sure I need to not use solid food anymore on the run, cause that’s the only time my gut started hurting. At about mile 9 I picked up a running partner for a couple miles, which is always great and helps get you through those tough miles. Hamstrings were really hurting bad by then, otherwise everything else was just fine. Mentally, I was able to often remind myself that indeed, I am an ironman, and this wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. Did the math in my head and knew I was shooting for a 2:40ish half marathon. Same as I did in Orlando. 36 minutes off my half PR, but given the hills in the bike, and the hills in this run itself, I didn’t let it bother me, and push the last mile in, where we got some great crowd support. Made a sharp turn around a corner in downtown Stroudsburg, and the chute was pretty cool, with lots of folks primed from the Oktoberfest going on J Crossed the line with a total time of 6:10. And I felt like this was a solid race for me. 4 weeks off of Louisville, I still am not 100%, but I felt like I really rocked the bike – I came in 910th place on the bike – out of 2000 that puts me above average. I’ll take it and brag about it J .
So glad I signed up for this race. It’s been an awesome triathlon season for me. I know I need to train the run much better, but this year I needed to learn to swim and build up my bike. I’ll spend the next couple of months getting the run better and losing about 20 pounds. The next big event for me is the Goofy Challenge in January, a half marathon on Saturday, followed by a full on Sunday. It gives me a good focus to improve my run. Also I will be picking up weight training for strength. Aside from Lake Placid I don’t have any tri’s planned, but it sure would be fun to do Orlando again. I’d also like to do some swimming events. Can’t wait for the next challenge!
Some times I think that the constant hilly courses are harder than something with just a couple of killer climbs. You can never get into a rythym and it doesn't end until you do. At least with a big hill, it's over when you reach the top, but with those constant ups and downs, you are always on it, they can wear you down.
Scott
The first time you do something - It's going to be a personal record!
