NY Tri March Madness Biathlon - Duathlon

Well, as we all know, i am Fat Guy Runnin'. It was my bugaboo last year and i spent alot of the winter building base and running more than anything. My times have been falling as well as my weight and i have remaind injury free. So i still start at the back of the pack, but figured i would find a nice pace booty or another Clyde to run with and i was shooting for 2 10 min miles. As we all know i will talk to anyone if they stand still long enough, today was no exception as i chatted with people before and during the start of the race, hell i even chatted with peeps while running, just trying to keep my mind off my breathing and any pain or trepidation that might be there. So as i ran i was thinking i was about 85-90% of effort, got in with some peeps that seemed to have the same pace as me and just kinda trucked along. I usually stop running after 15mins and walk for a bit, just kinda how i do it, and how i have been doing it since i started this training 8 months ago. Well today was a race and it was an exception, it was time to see if the work i had done would pay off. I ran the whole 2 miles, no worries, in Z2 conversational or just above pace. I owe a lot to our very own Trixie (Lisa Taylor), in BT chat i bombard her with questions ranging from how to train to how to pace a Du, since she is the Du Queen!! She always answers them and is always a great friend to have in the sport, So Trix, if you read this THANX!!!! She said to go out 90% and i follwed her instructions well and had a great first run. When i was done and looked at my splits i was a little concerned, but after verifying the actual, not advertised, mileage i ran pretty good and could have easily kept this pace for a stand alone 5K

Hills and hill repeats, i run in a flat neighborhood, i need to get out and start doing hills.

T1 was ok, i coulda been faster, but the weather was just not cooperating, no way to run without socks, so no need to put shoes on bike, i also wanted to keep them dry so i hung them on the pedals. Got in, no probs locating bike, put helmet on, shoes off, shoes on, grabbed bike, made sure the computer was reset and viola, time to ride, out to bike start which was a cluster and down the road motors i ago!!!

learn how to stop the rain, figure out a way to not slide or slip in bike shoes, run in and out faster.

AHHHHHH the bike.......well let me tell you, i do not know what went on, and i am not complaining, i mount the bike, get clipped in no probs, my bottom bracket was making noise, what was described as an alligators mating call on Friday when i had i cut my ride short, i listened for the groaning, did not hear it and said ok, lets go. You immediately start up the same hill as the run, my legs felt good, i felt good, i had just had a good run and i was happy, i looked at my bike and said well?? He replied what the hell you waiting for, lets make up some time!! So i dropped the friggin hammer up the hill, got my blood pumpin and away we went. When i tell you i passed probably 25 peeps up that hill, i was yelling "ON YOUR LEFT" every 3 seconds. This trend continued, this was my first race on this bike, my first race riding in the aero position, i had probably passed 50 more people and i looked at the bike puter and i had only gone 2.66 miles, i was stoked, i started to get a little tired, so i backed off just a bit, but i was still blowing by people, i would hammer up the rollers and bang big gears down them. I was having the ride of my life. You come down this one really tricky twisty section that is straight downhill and fast, but it is wet, so i was backing off it just a little an was on the brakes, i see a Tri Hottie on a Tri bike and she is looking skittish, so i don't want to spook her by yelling OYL so i come up along side and i can tell she is not enjoying this downhill twister and i say "hey nice form!! she replies thanx and flashes a smile and i continue on. So I get to the BIG BIG uphill, really the only one big climb, i stalled a little, i was pushing and honestly i was going too too hard. Finally one of the guys i passed, passed me back up hill, he was an older guy on a Cervelo roadie in blue with clip-ons, i shouted over to him "NICE BIKE"!! he said thanx, i will see ya on the down hill. So sure as shit, i get over the top of the hill and start bombing down the other side, i go blowing by him at like 28 mph and shout see ya in a bit as i go by. He and I danced for the rest of the race, he could not drop me and i could not drop him. Well, the first lap concludes, and now i have an idea of what is going to go on the second lap. I hammer up the first hill again, me and cervelo man, and we have picked up another guy, his name is Chris, he is on a blue specialized, and is keeping pace with Cerveloman and I pretty well. All this while we are still picking off riders, left, right and in between. No one seems to know how to stay right, at one point i yell "on your left" and the dude moves over, as i go to pass, he gets spooked and move back left, AAAARRRGGGHHH, i move even farther left and HOLY SHIT i have one of those ped x-ing signs right in front of me, i just pull even left of left, the bike slides, i never get out of the pedals, hit a bump, bike slides even more, collect my self check my shorts for poo, and hammer on. Now the adreniline is pumping, and i know i have a great bike going, i am not stopping now, i will hammer till the end and so be it and my legs, i will worry about that in 4 miles. So cervelo man and Chris drop me on the same big hill, and down the other side an into the rollers i go blowing by them and I get a JESUS CHRIST, wont you go away....that was the last i saw Cervelo man, i finally dropped him. Chris and i Traded spots like 8 times to the point we just stopped trying to drop the other guy and settled into a nice ride, chit chatted a little, did introductions, laughed at the fact thatwe could not drop the other, wished we could just get in line and start drafting off each other, but as we got near the end, i just got out in ront on a downhill and left him, not to far behind. Man i love being a big old clyde on downhills!!! As i get to bike dismount, i am still hammering about 23 mph, i unclip the left shoe and stand, the marhall is waving at me cause i am flying, i grab both brake handles, lock the brakes on the bike on both wheels, come to a stop and hear cheers from the crown as i musta looked pretty cool. all in all i probalby passed 150 people on the bike, this was a friggin awesome ride for me and i am really really happy with it. Then the pain comes.........

More hills and hill repeats so i can ride the uphills better. The downhills and rollers i handled pretty well.

off the bike, my calves cramped, they twinged a time or two on the bike, so i knew they were coming. I got in ok, albiet walking funny with cramps, racked and unhelmeted, sat on the railing and changed my shoes and started waddling out T2.....the wrong friggin way!!!!! hahaha, all this and i went the wrong way, so i turned around and got outa dodge

not much, how about knowing and remembering which way out is???

HOLY FRIGGIN CRAMPS MAN!!!!! both calves were locked, there was no way i could run, i had to stop and stretch a few times and like an old car try to fire them up by running a hair just to see if i could run the cramps out. NADA no such luck, it took 5 mins of walking just to get them th where i could think of running. For the most part i musta put alot of distance on the bikers, cause i was not gettting passed a whole lot, maybe 15-20 peeps?? So i finally get to start jogging, there is no run, it is a slow painful jog. People whom i had passed on the bike are re passing me, and i get a few "don't let that good bike go to waste" comments, they were much appreciated. For all the running i had done, this was still an awful reminder of my first tri and that debacle, i washed those thoughts rapidly, and sucked up my mangina and said lets finish this thing!! I still had to walk some, i could not get my HR under control and i was wheezing, so i truged and shuffled and waddled to the turn around, 1 more mile to go!!! As i turn a big dude comes up beside me and says "dude, i woulda never though to see you again, you went by mw on the bike so fast i figured you started late or something" i said no, i jsut suck at running!!! We exchanged pleasantries, His name was Joey, iwas guessing he was a Brooklyn boy, from the accent, he said, i will run with ya a bit and we'll finish it together, i said deal!! We ran for most of the last mile and i could tell he was holding back, i said go on ahead and i will catch ya at the line, he said ok, and i never saw him again. He was the reason i finished the last mile as well as i did, and i owe him a big thanx!!! So i get over the last little roller and it is all downhill from here, so i turn on the gas and am cruising downhill as fast as i can go. see the finish line and i know i am done and spent, i don't think i left to to much in the tank.

i need to run hills and some speed work. After speaking with the two Jim's last week (Aikidoman and Birkierunner) i really need to just run more. that is whats is next on the list.

milled around talked to other racers, that is a shock i know. watched the awards, started getting cold, got back on my bike and rode up to my car. i was wearing a camouflage bike jersey, i had a bunch people come up and said how fast i went by them on the bike, and how did i end up. Overall a great group of people, in a really shitty weather situation. After the race i realized this was the first race i ever had that i did not have to pee!!! Whooo hooo!!


cramps, lack of hill training, weight


i cant wait till next year