Mountain Madness Triathlon - Race Report

By Alex Solomon

Around mile 53 on the bike I couldn’t move the crank. The incline was less than 10% but I was completely sapped of energy. I am going to fall over sideways and get carted back to the start. I was horrified by the prospect, mostly just thinking of the embarrassment. I was under trained, was too cocky, had gone out too hard, and now I was paying the price. I hadn’t given this course the respect it deserved.

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Race Report: 2012 Boston Marathon

By: John Rotella 

My first Boston marathon would end up being one of the top 10 hottest ever. With warnings throughout the weekend about the hot weather, the race organizers had me pretty uneasy.  Emails said “Only the fittest runners should consider participating” and “you should adopt the attitude that THIS IS NOT RACE. It is an experience”, I found myself thinking hard about what my race day might be like.

I was up by 4:30 am, eating hard-boiled eggs, fruit, chocolate milk, bread and Greek yogurt.  I wanted to be fueled for a 10:00 am start. Heading out to the bus pick-up at Boston Commons, it was great to see thousands of runners filling the streets at 6:00 am.  You could hear the excitement building from the runners on the bus ride as we got closer and closer.  We arrived at the Athlete’s Village and I was surprised by how well organized it all was.  Hundreds of port-a-potties, fluids/snacks stations, and massage tents in a setting that felt like the Olympics.  “Hopkinton: It all starts here!” is what one of the signs read in the field.  It was 80 degrees at the start, and I was pouring water on myself 10 minutes before the race even started. 

The gun went off and we all started shuffling towards the start.  Two lanes opened to four lanes to help spread the runners.  It was still very crowded till mile 6 and I spent most of the time hugging the right edge to find some space to run.  At mile 1, I heard girl yell out, “Only 25.2 miles to go!”  That is the last real time I remember hearing another runner speak out loud.  I normally enjoy meeting runners during these events and chatting the miles away (as Jeremy Ploessel can attest to), but this was the quietest marathon I have ever run.  Runners quickly realized all our strength would be needed to keep moving and speaking to each other was no longer an option.

Now mind you, it was also the noisiest marathon with respect to the crowd support and volunteers.  Almost every single stretch had folks cheering us on.  The first 6 miles just flew by as I poured water all over myself every chance I got.  Miles 6 through 16 had me focusing hard on settling into my pace.  The highlight of this stretch was the Wellesley College girls screaming for kisses from the runners at the top of their lungs.  I give one a kiss on the cheek, and took off in more cheers.  Around this time my HR monitor decided it wouldn’t work, so it was time to play it by feel.  Runners were starting to walk and cramp up left and right.  The temperature got to 89 degrees at its hottest point.  When the hills really started, I knew I was in for a battle.  I felt strong up the hills, weaker on the downhills, and after Heartbreak Hill I didn’t think I had 5 miles left in me.  I played the usual marathon mind games, “just keep running”, “You’ve made it 22 miles…, you got this”, “the worst is over”.  And I did my best put a smile on my face and think positive.  At mile 24, a woman screamed to me that I looked strong.  I gave her a pitiful look as I ran by her that made her scream even louder, “No, REALLY, you look REALLY STRONG!”  I truly soaked in the last two miles: listening to the crowds, feeling the excitement, and seeing that finish line.  It was just amazing.  I crossed the line at 3 hours, 15 minutes and 36 seconds, and am now a Boston finisher. 

The volunteers asked how I was doing and if I was ok.  My only response was, “is it possible for you cut off both of my legs up around the hip?” and one of them responded, “no, I’m sorry, that would be quite messy.  We aren’t allowed”.  One important lesson I learned was the benefit of immediate ice wrapped to my hamstrings.  I felt ten times better after that (not a hundred times, just ten).  A wonderful massage followed, and then an ice bath at the hotel.  After a big cheeseburger, fries and a coke, I went out to cheer on the remaining runners on the course.  It is some sight to see the determination, pain, exhilaration and satisfaction on their faces when know they are going to make it.  I can’t say I can recall the buildings or streets or signs I passed as I made my way through the course.  The screaming crowds, the quiet runners, the huge smile on my face, and the feeling of crossing the finish line is all I’ll remember.

Race Report: Red Hills Triathlon

By Ken Brown

The gun went off and my season started. Within a few strokes I had a pretty good left jab catch me square in the eye. It’s similar to the first good hit in football, where it rattles you and wakes you up pretty quickly.

I found the Red Hills Triathlon several years ago to be a great season opener. Held on the 1st Saturday of April, and being a sprint distance race (1/3 mile swim, 16 mile bike, 5K) it gives me a perfect opportunity to knock the rust off before getting into the meat of the season. Located just north of downtown Tallahassee, it was the perfect race for me to get a gauge on my current fitness. The swim is in a small alligator infested lake. The bike course is a basic square route that has you riding up and down some pretty challenging hills throughout Tallahassee. Once you dismount the bike, the run is a mix of asphalt and trail running. It makes for an interesting and different race than you’d expect in Florida.

This year my “A” race is the Florida 70.3 race in Haines City on May 20th. I have been training with one goal in mind - to qualify for World’s in 2012. My strength is sprint and Olympic distance races, so I’ve made some slight training adjustments to make sure I’m on my “A” game come May.

During the remainder of the swim I got into a nice rhythm and felt pretty good. I was in the 3rd wave behind the physically challenged athletes (there were two of them!) and M39 and under. Being a short swim, my goal was to get out as one of the first in the age group and then pound out the bike as hard as I could. I ended up getting gapped by about 10 meters by two athletes, and didn’t want to go too hard and start burning matches early into the race. I came out of the water 3rd, and hopped onto my P3.

Out onto the bike course I realized that my Quarq wasn’t measuring power. I train and race with power, so looking down at a blank screen had me concerned. At this point I knew there wasn’t much I could do but ride by feel. My coach, Jeremy Sipos, doesn’t use power and barely looks at speed, riding by feel. Before the race he told me to push hard, and then push harder. By the 1st mile I picked off the two swimmers ahead of me and was ready to mow down as many people as I could. One of the guys I rode by – Mark Sortino – is a friend of and an extremely talented athlete. He had outswam me, and he’s an outstanding runner. I needed to get some distance between us. At mile 9, I felt somebody passing me, and it was Mark. I knew at this point he wasn’t going anywhere; his cycling had gotten better. After trading spots a few times, I ended up putting a few seconds on him, but was that going to be enough? I entered into T3 in 4th place overall with a time of 40:15 after over 850 feet of climbing.

Onto the run I tried to jump into the lead immediately. Mark is a very gifted runner, and this course suits him perfectly. In trails and soft sand, I tend to get bogged down, whereas he lopes through the tough sections. After about 1/2 a mile, he pulled up next to me and broke me in half. I was able to hold off the other guys (albeit by a very slim margin) and finished in 2nd place overall.

I was pleased with the race. The conditions were great - cool and windy, which made for a tougher bike, and an easier run, which works nicely for my racing style. I feel like my swimming and cycling are where they need to be at this point, and my run has progressively gotten stronger.

Next up is a Tri the Parks race, John Tanner. This is the final tune-up before I give it a go at Florida 70.3.

A special shout out to the crew at Podium for always keeping my bike in tip top shape, and keeping me in line. A HUGE thank you to my coach and friend Jeremy Sipos. He has forced me to become a better cyclist just in order to hang onto his wheel. He’s also made me a better triathlete. To my wife Gina, and girls Lauren and Nicole. They make the largest sacrifice, in terms of time. I hope they see that hard work isn’t something “said,” it’s something “done”. Their support means everything. Full results from the Red Hills Triathlon can be found here.

Race Report: Georgia Publix Marathon

By: Todd Angel

After last year’s race I said I wouldn’t do it again. Well, I did. I said this year and I’ll say it here in writing: I will not do this race again. Hilly, hot, tough course…

I woke up early and followed my typical routine: A full length shower, breakfast of a peanut butter and honey sandwich, a banana, water with added electrolytes. I spent some time with Team Podium and friends from Atlanta Tri Club and did some pre-race stretching.

There was nothing special about the first leg of this or any full marathon. The temps were higher than last year. The first 10 miles or so slipped by as they do. After the split of the half and full marathons at mile 7 or so it became much quieter for the full runners. The wall came at about 18 miles, and I knew I was in for it. Despite having no goal, I still wanted a respectable time. I slowed from my average 9 minute/mile pace to a walk/jog. I kept this up, walking the hills and jogging the flats. Near mile 22, I came upon on friend who seemed to need more help than I did and paced him to the line. The pain went away about with a quarter mile to go and I’m sure this was my fastest quarter mile of the day. The finish line activity was great; lots of people were still around.

I collected my medal and finally got some food.  Official Time: 4:25

For me this “race” was more of a run. I spent most of the winter just keeping in shape. This race gave me something to focus on but not train too hard for. I figured I would finish between 4:15 and 4:30. I believe that it’s important to use a few races every year as just a training run. With this in mind, this year’s first marathon was just that.

My PR in the full marathon was 3:50 at Chicago in 2011 and I plan to race the Indianapolis Marathon this October with a goal of 3:45.

Other Team Podium athletes included Alex Solomon (1:20:52), Jeremy Ploessel(1:30:33),  John Rotella (1:30:34), Laura Sophiea (1:38:50), Brian Wainwright(1:40:46), Michael McGinniss (1:48:23), and Sheila Howard (2:00:53) in the half marathon, and Dan Meyer (3:46:49) in the marathon. Full results can be found here.

Just like last year, I said I wouldn’t do this race again. I’ll see you in 2013.

Race Report from Vision Trek 10k Trail Run

By: Sean Halpin

Canto 1

In the midway of life Sean finds himself in a savage wilderness, within a dark valley. Attempting to make his escape, and to ascend a beautiful mountain in site he is opposed by two wild beasts wearing blue shirts, and driven back.

Team Podium descended on the Vision Trek 10k like a wild three headed beast.: tucked tightly between fellow Team Podiumers, Brian Wainwright and Jeremy Ploessel, my heart rate immediately shot up to 173 where it would stay for the majority of the race. I tried to mask my heavy huffing by kicking the leaves around the trail. Slipping up and down the muddy hills, jumping over fallen trees, and sloshing through puddles we all fell into a union of shuffling. I glued myself to the backs of Jeremy’s shoes.

Just a few miles into the race and the burning in my legs had set in. There was no way I was hanging on to this group for the rest of the race. Brian must have agreed as he backed off slightly. At points like this I always find it helpful to hit the reset button. I pretend that the race has just started—everything behind me is behind me and suddenly it is only a 4 mile race instead of 6.

Reset

Just before the halfway point the blue shirts began to pull away. I hopped ahead of Jeremy to bridge the gap—knowing that Alex Solomon was waiting at the turn around—having borrowed Jeremy’s car. I would have to dawn a fake smile and thumbs up for the camera. At the turn around I failed to grab the green arm band showing I had run all the way there. The volunteer called out ‘wait your arm band’. I yelled back ‘Ill get it later’ there was no way I was letting go of the blue shirts. We made our way back into the woods and it was great to see all the Team Podium hats brushing past me. We were all pretty close to the front of the pack ! Team Podium was dominating!! I also learned that I was running about 7th place!

Turn Around: Thumbs up for the Camera

Reset

This is the point in the race where I transform into a cheerful 13 year old girl. Despite my sky rocketing heart rate and uncontrollable huffing, I started chatting with my competition. It was just me and the two blue shirts. “Have you ever done this race before?… Great job everyone I think we are going to catch that guy in front of us…You guys are making this look too easy”. I didn’t get any answers to my chattiness, just grunts.

The Blue Shirts

Reset

A mile and a half or so further and one of the blue shirts fell off. I heard the fallen blue shirt yell up to the other blue shirt compadre’, “Good job, you’ve got this”. This was a challenge. You’ve got this meant you’ve got him…and that wasn’t happening. I surged ahead with about a mile to go and suddenly I found myself running 100 meters or so behind 4th place. The blue shirts had disappeared.

Reset

We burst out of the woods and onto the concrete path—about 400 meters to go. I had nothing left. My heart was pounding around 190 at this point and I was giving all I had just to hang on and not get passed at the finish line. Then I heard the sound of thumping bass and the smell of burning rubber. It was Alex. He was back at the finish, ready to cheer on the fellow Podiumers. I surged ahead just catching the heels of the runner ahead of me and blasting through to the finish line, 4^th overall in a time of 59:47:00.

Jeremy out-sprinted Brian to take 7th overall in a photo finish, at 1:02:30 and 1:02:31, respectively. Jaime Harris did the same, out-sprinting his competition and finishing in 1:10:35. Sarah Heaton rounded out the Team podium finishers in 1:13:25. Full results can be found here.

The Vision Trek 10k is an annual trail running event that benefits the Georgia Eye bank. To learn more about the race and the Georgia Eye Bank, visit their website,http://vizslacoach.com/vision-trek-10k-trail-run/ .