Author Archives: admin

REV 3 Challenge…. CEDAR POINT

Posted on by

ASHLEY….5:59:59, 4th age group, (see race review below), CARLO…6:25:03, MIKE W….6:17:44, STEVE Z…6:06:45, (see race review below)

ASHLEY…The race on Sunday did not look promising there was a threat that they were canceling the swim because the Bay had high algae and the lake was too rough. There was a lake advisory from Saturday morning until Sunday afternoon. The Sprint on Saturday got completely canceled due to rain, wind, and waves. Challenge experience damaged on their equipment and their boat capsized when they were putting the markers out on the lake. Luckily, the storms and wind helped the water to clear up in the bay so we were still on for the swim!

Come race day the wind and lake were still very strong.They moved us to the bay which means it was a time trail swim start and we had a half mile run from the bay to transition. They started the full first where they swam in front of the brick wall and behind the brick wall. The water was getting so rough behind the brick wall, that they delayed the half by 10 minutes to move the markers inside the brick wall. Once they got the markers moved we were off by 8:31 am. The better swimmers made sure to get up front since it was a time trail. Basically they let two swimmers go, then they let the other two leave 2 seconds after. The swim went pretty well. I felt like it got crowded at times but all in all it wasn’t bad. Coming to the finish of the swim it got really chopping. I finished the swim in 30 minutes.

They included the long run to the transition into our transition time so I had a whopping 8:55 minute transition time. Once on the bike and in the grove I realized I should have put on arm warmers. The high was only 66 and by the time we started biking we were just under 60 degrees. The wind made it seem so much colder! I have never biked in wind like we had yesterday! I was really struggling at times and had a hard time keeping my bike from being pushed. By mile 35 I was ready to get off my bike and start the run; I was so tired from the wind. I finished the bike at 3:15 with a average pace of 17.23.

Once off the bike I felt great! First mile was 8:30 pace and I was hoping I would be able to keep close to that pace, but by mile 9 my hamstrings started to tighten up and I was doing everything possible to finish. I finished the run at 2:03.59 with an average of 9:25. Total finish time was 5:59.59 and my goal for the race was to be under 6 hours!! I placed 4th out of 8 in my age group only 4 minutes away from 3rd place. She got me the last two miles of the run. All in all I am so happy with my time and I can say I have a new addiction. I hope to do a Ironman next year!

STEVE…Completed my 1st 70.3 distance race on Sunday September 13th at Challenge Cedar Point. Conditions were very tough with winds running constant at 15-20 knots and pushing 25+ knots at times. My personal goal; outside of just finishing, was 6 hours or less (ideally 5:30). I ended up finishing with a time of 6:06:45 – 1.2 mi swim: 31:27 (this is my strong suit – *original goal was 40:00); 56 mi bike: 3:01:12 (decent considering the wind – *original goal was 2:45); 13.1 mi run: 2:23:50 (Running is not my favorite leg and it became apparent I could have used some additional brick training here. At about mile 8 getting to the finish became a pure mental game and my whole body was cramping by mile 12 – *original goal was 2:05). Although I fell short of my goal time I am still proud of my performance for the 1st time out and being able to say I made it through a long course race. After talking with several other racers who have done multiple 70.3 events in the past noting that due to the weather conditions this race was one of the most difficult they have ever experienced I am happy to have finished where I did.

KEN FRANKENBERY….XTERRA

Posted on by

Versailles Indiana Xterra, off road Triathlon – 9-5-2015

Versailles State Park in Eastern Indiana is a beautiful park, but one of my least favorite race venue’s.

The swim is one of longest on circuit, advertised at 1000 meters, but I think closer to 1100 (and the way I went off course close to 1300!!). Lake is shallow and water warm, so no wet suits allowed ( a poor swimmers salvation!), the mountain bike is a tight 13 mile trail, with virtually no places to pass ( much of the trail is cut into steep hillsides), so you often have to follow people , ask them to pull over, which can be frustrating. The run is the best part, a technical, hilly 5 mile run, with several creek/ river crossings.

The weather was brutal, Friday I pre rode mountain bike loop (3 years since I had been there- so felt I needed to be familiar with course), it was 97 degrees and humid, so being out there for 90 minutes was tough the day before a hot race.

Race morning was warm, with another 90 + day forecasts. There had been a late night thunderstorm, so trail was slippery.

My swim was not good. I got behind the main pack, and got off course several times. The only thing worse than swimming slow, is swimming an extra couple hundred meters because you don’t swim straight!!! I was 53rd out of maybe 75 racers. I hit the bike hard, most people were great about moving over (maybe it was me screaming like a ban chi once I got close), and so I passed close to 25 people. As I hit the run, the temp was close to 90, but I felt solid, and started picking off people on the run. I passed over 11 people, each mile feeling stronger and stronger.

I ended up 17th overall, 1st in my age group, and a list of items to work on for 2016!!

Ken

Paul Lenz….Pocono`s 70.3

Posted on by

8/16/15
Paul Lenz
Challenge Poconos Mountain 70.3
5:42:30
Age Group: 9th/32 Overall: 122nd/454
Turned out to be a real nice weekend in Eastern PA, while finishing my first half ironman. The course was extremely scenic in the confines of the National Park/Delaware Water Gap Area, and also challenging with many hills. The only flat part of the course was the swim on the Delaware river! To complement the hills, abundant shade was present, closed roads for the bike, and about 4-6 miles of the run on trails. The finish was picturesque heading towards the river on the grounds of the historic Shawnee Inn with a backdrop of mountains. A nice post race spread with a complementary beverage of the adult variety from the local Shawnee Brewery followed. If looking for a challenging 70.3 and don’t mind the 5.5-6 hr drive east, this is a race to consider. Stroudsburg PA is a nice small town close by and convenient to stay in. Check out the Challenge website for some pictures and explanation of this race for yourself.

KEN, XTERRA RACE RECAP

Posted on by

Appalachian Xterra Off road Tri- Indiana PA- 8-2-2015

Standing on the beach, looking out at the buoys 400 meters out, I could feel those butterflies of anticipation in my stomach. When you’re racing week after week, they tend to diminish. You never get rid of them but years of racing diminishes the excitement.

It had been 3 years (and 2 major surgeries) since my last race. I had been training but till you put yourself up against others, you’re never really sure how successful your training has been.

The gun went off, and I had decided to take the swim conservative. Start out slow, get in a rhythm, and make sure not to go anaerobic. Had the usual bumping, getting swam over, swimming into people, and had to deal with a lot of plant growth (Lake Weed that would get all over your face, tangle up your arms & legs, and generally freak you out) that was all the way out to the 300 meter marker. I finished swim not at all out of breath, but hit the beach hammer it and immediately passed 4 or 5 people on way to transition. Karen yelled as I went by that I was doing great, but I wasn’t sure if I was in a good position, or she was just trying to reassure me.

Going into transition one, looking around I could see lots of bikes still there, that was reassuring had a great transition, passing at least 3 people there.

Getting on the bike, I felt at home. I immediately picked up the pace, and started passing people going up the first gravel road climb, before the single track. Hitting the single track I continued passing people, and came up on a large group. The young guy in front of me had just caught the group, and starting yelling to ask them if he could pass. People were great and moved over, and I simply stayed on his wheel, letting him do all the yelling. After we had passed maybe 20 people, I asked him if I could get around him. He was shocked, not realizing I had caught him, and that someone would want by. We hit a tight section and I got super close so he could feel me , letting him know I was serious. He let me past, and as we rode through another tight section, he asked if that was 51 on my calf (they body mark your age on both calves so people know if you’re in their age group). I saw a big hill approaching, and yelled back – no it’s a 59. I heard him moan, and I hit the climb hard, dropping him like a bad habit. The rest of the 14 mile bike went great, I never saw another sole. It’s a tough hilly loop, with lots of super steep hills, a river crossing, lots of rocks & roots. It’s one of the toughest on the circuit.

I hit transition 2, and noticed there were very few bikes there, so felt great. The 5 mile trail run went great. Several tree’s down you had to crawl over, rocky hills, and only had one minor mishap on a section of roots a fall that cut open my hand. Heck, if you’re not bleeding, it’s not an Xterra!

I finished 7th overall, 1st in my age group (second place was 25 minutes behind) in 2 hours 23 minutes, and felt like I still had more in the tank.

A great start to the 2016 season!!

JASON, ORRVILLE ROAD RACE

Posted on by

I got 10th place out of 26 riders in the Smith Dairy Milk Road Race in Orrville, on Sunday. Category 5, first ever licensed race. I was 4th place going into the last corner, I got freight trained by the peleton on the way to the finish! Luckily there were only 12 of them! My Hudson Velo buddy, is 10ish years older than me, got 4th place. He had the lead out of the last corner, he almost held off the sprinters.

2015 AGE GROUP NATIONALS…Megan, Jim

Posted on by

MEGAN….8TH AGE GROUP, TIME 2:12:49

JIM….What a great event! – I never thought I would qualify for National and was honored to be there – If you ever get a chance go and enjoy the event. On Saturday there were 3200 age groupers who had qualified by finishing a prior race in the top 10% of their AG in a prior USAT race. There were really good athlete in each age group that made the race highly competitive.
This year the race was in Milwaukee – really beautiful city (sorry next year it moves to Nebraska) – and for the most part the weather was cool and good for racing. The event took place at the lake front adjacent to the Art Museum. The swim took place in a harbor that it walled off from Lake Michigan – water was deep and COLD! – On Friday there was a practice swim in waters that were 62-63 degrees – the first couple hundred yards were really tough then it was not so bad – The bike course has a couple of climbs – notably up and over one of the major highway bridges in Milwaukee – the climb was long but the grad was reasonable so it was not difficult – the run course was right along the lake and was flat.
On race day there were wave deep water starts with lots of time between waves so swimmers were pretty spread out – my wave went off at 7:55, Megan’s at 8:55 and the last waves were like 9:55 so there was racing on the course all morning. I started in bright sun by the time I got 1/2 way done with the bike the sky had clouded over and the wind had picked up – never did rain but it felt like it could. The good news is the temps were low and there was no sun soak during the bike and run. The bike course was closed to traffic but the bridge was under construction so the road surface was rough in spots – The bridge is elevated well above the city street surface and the wind at the top was considerable – That said it was a good course. The run was all on pavement and flat –
Very enjoyable weekend – great to see how good (and fast) some of the lead age groupers are.

Jim