-- The run course is 5 mi long, through the Mohonk Preserve on mixed terrain. Mixed being grass/dirt/rocks, crushed cinder, over a downed tree and also over planks of wood that act as mock bridges. It is not entirely run-able, as some sections of this hiking trail are just so steep. The elevation gain is ~825 ft (by my watch).
-- The bike course is 29 mi long with an elevation gain of 2885 ft.
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| Bike Course |
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| Run Course |
-- Short Course/CWD (= Canadian Women's Division, a.k.a. "hard") - 5 mi run, 29 mi bike, 5 mi run = 4535 ft elevation gain.
-- Middle Course/F1/Chris Gleason Memorial (a.k.a. "extremely hard") - 5 mi run, 29 mi bike, 5 mi run, 29 mi bike, 5 mi run = 8245 feet elevation gain.
-- Long Course (a.k.a. "sadistic") - 5 mi run, 3 loops for 87 mi bike, 3 loops for 15 mi run = 11,955 feet elevation gain.
Those facts however, don't quite do this event full justice. Some of the color commentary collected over my years of attendance go like this: this race is where open running speed goes to die; if it were easy, if everyone finished, it'd be called Ironman; this event is harder than Ironman Lake Placid; the AZ course is like stapling your sack to the floor and standing up!!. The national anthem is played on a bagpipe; the piper sometimes wears a kilt; the flag is a US-flag-imprinted umbrella. Packet pick up used to be held some 12 miles away in a shack tucked away up a steep and narrow road that put you in a place where you expected to hear banjos playing and to perhaps be surrounded by a pack of ill-cared-for dogs. See also this blog for additional comparisons to other sporting events.
Some some scenes from the course.
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| Transition |
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| Road in park to transition area |
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| Along Butterville Rd |
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| Along Rt 44/55 |
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| Along Rt 44/55 |
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| Along Rt 44/55 |
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| Somewhere along Granite/Lower Granite (I think) |
Why this event?
Well it started with Heather. She does the long course and in Oct 2011 (when registration opened) suggested I give it a try. I read the distance description and knew I couldn't tackle such a thing so early in the year, as hockey is my main focus over the winter months. I signed up for the middle distance and conned my friend Ashley into doing so as well. That first year (race in May 2012) I had no goal and also no honest understanding of what I had gotten myself in to. It was really warm out and I took the DNF after completing the 2nd run lap instead of destroying myself to go for the event finish.
-- R1, 1:08:28 (stopping for nearly 10 min to help a girl who was cramping and freaking out)
-- T1, 3:52
-- B1, 2:13:40
-- T2, 3:51
-- R2, 1:18:12 (wiping out after tripping over a rock)
-- This DNF totaled 4:48:03 and would have been a 3rd place finish in my age group had I signed up for the short course.
May 2013 was supposed to be retribution, but I was technically a DNS as I was never going to be able to participate after the time I'd taken off from training while trying to sort out what my hip issue was. I still went up there to ride one lap of the bike course while my friends raced. The weather was terrible. Cold, rainy, low 50's at the race site but colder and super foggy out on the bike course, and a drastic change from what was predicted for the weekend. Most participants were inappropriately dressed for this reason. I actually stopped for a bit b/c I was shaking so hard I was afraid I'd crash. Read this epic race report for a better understanding of conditions that day.
-- B, 2:27:00.
2014 was about a legitimate finish. And to make sure it happened, I registered for the short course. Goals included dialing in my transition times, keeping both run segments <1 h, beating my DNF time and hopefully posting a better bike time.
My race
For starters, I veered from my normal pre-race dinner (salmon) to have the special (pasta), and also slept poorly, in an uncomfortable bed possibly wrapped in plastic; at least that would explain why I was so damp-feeling all night. At any rate, my first run lap was terrible. My legs felt super heavy and also too unresponsive to run over the varied surface. I walked all the up hills and even most of the down hills. I was dropped right away and within the first few minutes knew my whole day was not going to go to plan.
In this "run" I pondered how I could be so drastically under trained for this, decided I would not do Boulder, quit triathlon and training in general, and also decided to quit hockey and be a fat/lazy slob for the rest of my life. Yes, I was that unhappy. I also contemplated cutting through the woods to quit without even finishing out the first run leg. I wonder what I would have done if I hadn't carpooled with Ashley, but at the time I realized waiting around for her would be boring, so I may as well keep plugging along. Since I knew I was last, I squatted in the woods for a moment of relief, so I could try to keep other portions of my race on track.
Specifically, T1. Stopping for the bathroom during transition would have killed my time goal. As it was, I did a great job here even though I split my focus to tell Mindy what had happened to me. (I was sooo late she was worried about me, and I appreciate that someone was). I exited transition with a celebratory fist pump in the air which motivated the crowd to cheer me on.
I found the 2nd to last person on the first climb of the loop, weaving dangerously all over our lane of travel, but it took me until most of the way down the first decent to catch up with her (mi ~2.5). By this point she was riding just about in the middle of the road, and the car and I had to move into the on-coming lane to get around her. I wasn't feeling as good on the bike as I did my first year here, as my finger splint affected my breaking a bit which led to reduced confidence in bike handling. My max speed on a course like this is usually about 40 mph but it was only 35 mph this time around. I was also cold and grumpy that I had ripped off my long sleeved shirt out of defiance after finishing the first run lap. There may have been some head winds along the southern edge of the course that also contributed to my slower-than-desired pace.
Emotions on the bike ranged from "yay, at least I'm biking now and in my element", to "damn, wish I didn't take off my extra shirt b/c now I'm freezing," to "I hate this and why the F do I keep signing up - I'm never doing this again," to the total boost of FINALLY passing someone round about mile 27. I was not going to be last! But I sure didn't hit my desired average bike pace.
I hit my T2 goal time and felt really good coming off the bike. Seriously good. Legs felt strong, feet felt light. I decided to cast aside all things that had not gone as planned today and shoot for the new goal to negative split the run. I power marched all the serious up grades and ran down them confidently. I pushed hard for the finish, completing this run 10 min faster than the first one and feeling really proud that despite the bad start and missed goals, I came very close to hitting my desired overall race time (which was 4:29).
Results
R1, 1:10:23, pace 14:05 min/mi, (last place)
T1, 1:22
B, 2:18:05, 12.6 mph, (60th place)
T2, 1:06
Run, 59:56, 11:59 min/mi, (50th place)
Finish, 4:30:55, 3rd to last place.
This event is small enough (67 short course participants, 65 finishers) that I managed to get a mug for being 3rd in my age group. Never mind there were only 3 of us, total.
Lessons for next time
Next time? I'm sure you wonder why I would ever come back here. This question gets asked whenever I talk about this course, and also by myself while I'm doing it. I suppose I have to start with "why do anything?" Why do any race a first time? For the beautiful venue? For the race organization? For the personal challenge? Yes, those things, but also because merely attempting this one makes me stronger both physically and mentally. I also get a kick out of this small event where I recognize some faces from the few years I've been a repeat customer. And let's not forget this reason - the middle distance course and I have unfinished business.
To that end, I've got the following take away lessons. First off, doing well at this event requires sincere off-season focus. This isn't a "nice little event to throw in the beginning of the season, to start things off". Sure, it can be one hell of a work out. But doing my best here means this event will get A-race status next time around. Secondly, what ever kind of winter we may have, I think I can look forward to plenty of off-season squats. Or maybe I can find a 20-story building that will let me run up its fire stairwell. Third, I should stick to what works for my pre-race meal, even if the special on the menu sounds yummy. Finally, I guess I'm now at an age where hitting the ground running requires a pre-race warm-up, so I'll bring my bike trainer and spin for some minutes before moving my bike to transition. I used to think only the people hoping to win races did this, but now see it might also be for people who need to start out a crazy trail run with a good amount of agility so they don't break an ankle.
Pre-amble to 2015 race
Hey Zofingen,
I want you to know I hear you over there, whispering and giggling in your little group with my other inner demons. I see you smugly swinging your satchel of crushed souls without a care in the world. It only seems fair to warn you, I'll be taking mine back tomorrow. No, I don't expect it to be easy. In fact I'm pretty sure it's going to hurt. A lot. It's still gunna happen though. Until then...,
-Sue.
