Race Report - Survival of the Mills, Oct 2015

I really wanted to write a race report for this one, because it was such a fun, unique and quirky format race.  Unfortunately, I waited so long to complete it, that I think some details are sure to suffer.

What: A 3-format multisport event held in Wells Mill County Park in Waretown, NJ.

Distances: 5 k run,
               26.6 mi 5-stage duathlon, and
               30.0 mi 7-stage triathlon.

Course: Makes use of the soft/sandy/hilly park trails, a small lake, and an adjacent 4.5 miles of pretty quiet and smooth road.  It's a really nice venue for the event size.

Inspired by: Survival of the Shawnagunks (link).

The whole duathlon course.  The triathlon swim takes place at the lake (Oyster Creek) near the reservation.

My coach didn't know I was going to do this event, which I signed up for 2 days ahead of time.  My Training Peaks workout instructions were: 2 h bike on Saturday - "have fun"; and 1 h run on Sunday - "don't press and just get the miles in".  Well ok; 1 week out from Beach 2 Battleship, surely that meant this race was a great idea, as long as I took it easy, right?  Probably not, but I did it anyway, choosing the duathlon due to what was forecasted to be very cold weather.  And true to prediction, it was FREEZING race morning, with my car showing 29 on the drive there.  Twenty-nine degrees Fahrenheit - and some people were actually doing the triathlon!   

I got to the race site good and early, and since we were able to select any ol rack position, I chose an excellent one as close to the isle and to the bike in/out as remained possible.  After a stop at the warm bathroom facilities (there were porta potties too, but why pass up a warm bathroom?) I went back to the car to finish my coffee and layer on my race clothing.

My game plan was to start the event with lots of clothing on and peel off as I went.  I had on cycling shorts, running tights, and cycling tights over that.  I had on a long-sleeved compression top, a sleeveless tri top, a zipping shrug, and my cycling jacket.  I wore my headband as an earband, had two pairs of socks on, and wore full finger disposable gloves over my cycling gloves.  I clipped my run bib onto my race belt and headed to the starting line, mesmerized by some others who from my point of view appeared hugely under dressed in shorts and tank tops.

Wave Starts.  The 5 k started first and there was a gap in time to allow them all to clear the branch point where they ran straight but we veered left.  This took a bit.  Next one or two waves were male triathletes.  All women triathletes and all duathletes took off together as the last group.

Run 1, 1.3 mi.  Runners go about a half mile on main trail then left turn onto a single track winding trail which leads back to transition.

Run 1 (1.3 mi).  The trail started out firmer and maybe 3 people abreast wide but became single track and ugh, very sandy - so hard to run on.  I was warm in no time.  I was also torn between not wanting to get dropped (work harder!) and chanting over and over “take it easy, you are not racing this”, all the while wondering about how difficult it felt following my field hockey game the day before. 

Transition 1.  While I was certainly over dressed for Run 1 what I was really worried about was Bike 1, since the course was shaded and temp was still under 40 deg (or so it felt; GarminConnect reports otherwise).  And what I did not want to do was waste time in transition dicking around with putting clothes on.  I made it through quickly, only needing to change my shoes.  At this time I did not yet own toe covers and would make do using the corners cut from grocery store plastic bags placed over my toes inside the shoes.  Really works rather well but probably adds a couple seconds per shoe change.

Bike course, 4.5 mi out and back for 9 mi total, beginning where the black circle is, and initially heading east.

Bike 1 (9 mi).  Though my mind said “keep it easy, you are not racing this”, my ego was all “get them!”, particularly because biking felt better than running.  The bike is an out and back with transition placing you near the middle of the 4.5 mi stretch, so you start right away seeing people ~4 miles ahead of you.  I was killing people on the descents, mostly because I had a TT bike and aero helmut while many competitors had road or hybrid bikes.  I intentionally did not work hard up hill, which led to some cat and mouse with one female athlete who was really moving through the climbs but throwing away free speed by sitting upright instead of using her drops.  No worries, she caught me easily in the run.

T2.  Let the peeling begin.  I ditched the plastic from my toes but I think kept the 2 pairs of socks on, hoping it would warm up enough that this would be sufficient for B2.  I also ditched my coat but I think I kept on the disposable long fingered gloves.

Run 2, 4.0 miles, partly along the "challenging and technical" Oyster Creek trail.

Run 2 (4 mi).  This run too, started on a wider and firmer trail, before changing to narrow, windy single track with enough tight tree groupings and low-hanging branches, that I honestly wondered how some of the larger competitors were going to handle it.  This segment doesn't favor anyone over, I'm guessing 5'9", as I felt like ducking and I'm only 5'3+" tall.  For the triathletes, this was a 2.25 mi run segment to the little lake, where there was a small transition area for people to have their wetsuits staged, if desired.  Talk on Slowtwitch leaned toward, "suck it up, it's only 0.4 mi", and I get that point of view, but how those racers got out of the 60-some degree water to run in then 50's degree air temp was beyond me.  Pure crazy, but entertaining to watch as I ran by.  1.7 mi closed out the distance between the lake and the main transition area.

T3.  Nothing to do here but change my shoes and don my helmet.

Bike 2 (9 mi).  Same course as before, and I seem to recall I was suitably dressed w/o my plastic bag toe covers and coat.  It's possible I pressed, when I should not have.

T4.  Here I shed my long fingered gloves, outer pair of socks, cycling tights, and possibly also the bolero, leaving me in cycling shorts plus running tights, underarmor shirt plus tri top, and cycling gloves - which I tend to leave on b/c I struggle with removing them quickly.  I also have occasionally tripped in duathlons and been pretty happy for the hand protection, and this course was insane.

Run 3, 5 k in the clockwise direction.  "First mile is main trail and then you pass through Racoon Branch trail.  Then to Estlow trail which has single track trails, ups and downs and finally you finish with a technical section of foot bridges."

Run 3 (3.1 mi).  This was the same 5 k course that the 5 k runners ran.  More soft sand for the first portion, then transitioning to zig zags through trees and some elevated plank foot bridges like on the American Zofingen course, and super fun.  I seem to recall the hills were larger for this run segment as well.  Anyway, as hard as all the running was in this event, it was just a blast to do.

Finish line.  This was a fun atmosphere with a nice grassy space for spectators to hang out.  Several had their dogs along.  Athlete food was right there, with no segregation, which made for a nice all inclusive kind of feeling.  Maybe that's usual for small events and I just haven't done enough of them.  The format of the race, using several transitions, kept the athletes coming through in a way that was hopefully interesting.

I don't know whether this event will really fit in with my race plans this year, but I may do it again anway and just jog it in, because it was so fun and definitely the kind of event I'd like to see thrive.  All kinds of participants on all kinds of bike varieties, just a wonderful atmosphere.  If you have a sense of adventure, check it out!

	Time	Pace	AG Rank	Gender	Overall
Run 1 T1	13:28 1:51	[10:46/mi]	5 / 5 3 / 5	8 / 13 9 / 13	31 / 37 28 / 37
Bike 1 T2	30:39 1:36	[17.6 mph]	2 / 5 3 / 5	3 / 13 5 / 13	18 / 37 19 / 37
Run 2 T3	50:51 1:28	[12:43/mi]	4 /5 2 / 5	8 / 13 4 / 13	31 / 36 16 / 36
Bike 2 T4	30:59 1:07	[17.4 mph]	2 / 5 2 / 5	2 / 13 3 / 13	15 / 36 7 / 36
Run 3	36:47	[11:52/mi]	3 /5	5 / 13	22 / 36
Overall	2:48:44		3/5 -> 1/3	5 / 13	24 / 36

27 5 k runners, 80 triathletes, plus 37 duathletes made for 144 participants overall.  Cute event, seizure-inducing website.