French Linen

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Montauk: A Sprint to The End

After Mike’s first triathlon in PA, I wasn’t sure if I would get him back into a triathlon swim as the “swim mob” nearly did him in.  But after the Stamford triathlon and some ocean swim practice, Mike was hooked to the multi-sport life.  And, he had to admit that it was more fun being a participant than being my triathlon lackey.  So when I proposed he could still get a charity spot for the Montauk Lighthouse Point Sprint triathlon on July 15, he decided it was all for a good cause!  I had chosen this race since it one of the longer Sprint distances (1/2 mile swim, 14 mile bike, 5K run), and I figured it would be a good progression to ultimately doing my first Olympic distance race.  I also chose the race for its bucket list location – I have always wanted to go to The End, as the eastern most tip of Long Island is known.

We drove out to Montauk on Friday the 13th.  Forty-five minutes into the ride we were questioning whether or not we had turned off the towel warmer at home.  Since 99% of the time, the answer to such on-the-road questions is yes, we decided to keep moving forward [upon returning home we discovered it on and realized just how lucky our Friday the 13th was!].  Once we reached the Hamptons, the summer traffic was in full force.  However, it was once we arrived to check into our hotel that Friday the 13th struck in full force with the “what’s your name again…um, no record of your reservation”.  Producing my Expedia reservation confirmation that I had received two days earlier with the “no further confirmation required notification” only got a “yes, that is a valid reservation.”  Our hotel immediately began calling around and asserted, “we’ve got you a room across the road at the Born Hotel for $250 per night but you have to say yes now since they have someone else wanting it.”  We took it sight unseen – the fear of having to stay miles away and navigating the summer traffic was too much to argue.
We spent the rest of Friday afternoon walking the town and scoping out dinner.  We also took a drive up to the Montauk Lighthouse, or truly “The End”.  Mike gracefully skipped along the rock path that surrounds the lighthouse and drops down to the ocean with no railing.  I decided this was one sport I didn’t want to partake in.  We tried to envision where the race would take place but with the waves crashing up against the rocks, we surmised the swimming portion must be elsewhere.  We concluded our evening with a superb lobster, mussels, clams, and corn on the cob full meal deal and some Italian cookies from the local bakery.
On Saturday morning we attempted to get up really early to do a bike warmup, but I had had a restless sleep so we were up at 8am.  I checked the course and we decided to do one leg of it and check out Gin Beach where the swim and T1 would be.  The bike course was flat for about two-thirds of the race but its final stretch included the hills up to the lighthouse, where T2 was located; nothing we haven’t conquered in our hilly Connecticut terrain.  Ten miles later we were ready for Anthony’s Pancake House.
We digested our breakfast by picking up our race packets and shopping for some final necessities.  I decided I wanted to carry a small water bottle on the run given the heat wave we had been experiencing.  When I couldn’t find a small one, I opted for buying and emptying a small lime juice bottle – it was the perfect size and I reasoned the squirt top would be perfect for on the go hydration. 
We did a 10 minute swim warm up in the very wavy beach near our hotel, and then packed up our transition gear into T1 and T2 bags.  By 5:30pm, I was all packed up – a record!  We decided to not risk a restaurant prepared meal (given Mike’s last race bathroom issues) and just make our own pasta dinner since our $500 hotel spend came with a small kitchenette.  After dinner, we took an evening stroll – a sorbet stop seemed ok for pre-race diet.  By 9:00pm, we were in bed and feeling organized and prepared for our 4:50am wakeup.
We awoke at 4:45am.  I slept better than the night before but it was Mike’s turn for a restless night.  Nevertheless, the adrenaline was in full force.  I had reminded Mike how fast race morning goes – once again, we needed every minute, especially with the two transition areas.  After we had dropped off our gear in T2, I realized we should have counted the transition rows to insure we could find our gear (we both would later lose some seconds as we searched for our T2 spot).  We had to park and walk our bikes about ½ mile to T1.  T2 set up, two bathroom runs, body marking and chip fetching further ate minutes.  Then, we had to walk another ½ mile down the beach to the start.  We made it with just comfortable minutes to spare.  Others were not so lucky and were running down the beach and starting with subsequent waves.
Mike’s wave went first followed by mine a few minutes later.  Since it was a point to point swim course, it seemed straight forward.  I was grateful when someone in our wave said there were 4 buoys after the start buoy – I hadn’t thought to count them but it helped me consider my swim pace once we were in the water and lost all perspective.  Mike was out of the water in 18:10 and I came in at 23:45 – both times longer than anticipated but I suspect the current may have been slightly against us and the run up the beach to the timing mat was significant.
We passed each other going in opposite directions on the bike.  I was going at a good clip, but not passing as many people as I often do, I think a combination of some very strong cyclists on expensive bikes and the waves that preceded me were on average the faster groups.  Mike had spent Friday afternoon putting a bike computer on my bike but I had forgotten to reset it after our warm up ride so I wasn’t completely sure how I was doing with my speed.  I ended up being happy with a 18 mph pace for a time of 46:35 and Mike was happy with his 20.8 mph pace at 40:22.
Once at the Lighthouse T2, we ran through the paths of Camp Hero.  Once again we passed each other going in opposite directions.  Having spent a lot of energy on the bike, my run felt on the slow side, especially given the heat although I managed a 9:41 per mile pace at 30:06 and Mike did a 7:52 pace for a 24:28 run.  We both saved some fuel in the tank for a final, strong ascent up the hill to the lighthouse, with Mike passing a man and me passing a woman in the final stretch.  As I crossed the finish line at exactly 1:44:00 for my wave, I heard them announce “Catherine Mayone, Stamford, CT”.  Mike met his goal of finishing in less than 90 minutes at 1:27:28.  A very cool finish at THE END indeed!

Friday, July 20, 2012

The Hills of Gretna

Gretna Ride

After the Tri, I started concentrating on my biking in preparation for the 25 mile "ride around the valley".  I started out with a couple of 12 mile rides in addition to swimming.  My knee was feeling pretty good and the IT band pain was just about gone, but I decided to take a break from running for a while.  I went on one of my favorite 15 mile rides, only to find one of the main roads chewed up due to construction.  This brings up my next subject, the 'ride around the valley' disappointingly got cancelled due to road construction throughout the county.  I was getting bored with my usual rides, and to boot there was a heat wave; so my husband suggested I try riding in the hills of Mt. Gretna because it's nearly all in the shade.  He gave me directions, which I drew out on a napkin and shoved in my back pocket along with my phone.  Ordinarily this would sound like a bad idea, but I only had to check my cheat sheet once!  The route includes a couple really tough climbs, and a couple fun fast descents.  It's 11 or 12 miles and I can do it in under an hour... it's a great workout!  I did this ride 5-6 times in the last couple weeks, determined to master the tough hill in the middle.  Watching the Tour de France, I am aware of just how much determination it must take for the riders.  The hill I call "tough" registers a 5 on their difficulty rating which starts at 5 - with 1 being the most difficult.  My new favorite cyclist is Bradley Wiggins for telling those "f'ing wankers" to get off their "arses"http://   bit.ly/ND9ko5   
My husband and I dusted off our Trek tandem bike for a 20 mile ride on the rails to trails Tuesday.  I had a great workout, but all of the recent biking (which isn't supposed to hurt my knee) has yielded a bit of new and different pain.  Finally, I've made an appointment to see my family doctor to get some x-rays to find out how bad the arthritis is; and perhaps an MRI to check on the original injury and see what's going on with the meniscus and cartilage.  There is no instability, I feel strong and in excellent shape... just getting tired of the aches and pains of the last few years and finally ready to find out what's going on which will help me either fix it - or work around it.

Also, I got a new Trek mountain bike for my birthday and Bella and I have been hitting the rails to trails because it's shady there, and still 90 degrees.
   


Thursday, July 12, 2012

Just Tri It: Stamford Olympic Relay

Frances and Ursula were great support!
Looking back at this weekend’s events, I can’t help but think of the Beatles “I get by with a little help from my friends”.  Being part of a relay team added a whole new dimension to my triathlon endeavors.
Back in January I convinced my husband Mike and friend Allison that we should do a relay at our hometown Stamford Olympic distance triathlon hosted by the local charity Kids in Crisis.  Mike wasn’t ready to sign up for a triathlon since he hadn’t yet mastered swimming and I thought I could use the summer to train for my first Olympic distance.  Over drinks, I had convinced Allison to join me for our first Olympic distance in September so we thought this would be a good “training tri”.  Hence Team “Just Tri It” was born.
After having done full Sprint distance triathlons, I wasn’t sure if I would find doing a relay fulfilling but it was in different ways.  First, it gave me the opportunity to do my first 10K run.  Secondly, it allowed us all to do a hometown tri that we wouldn’t have otherwise been ready to take on.  And, it was super fun to experience team camaraderie in an otherwise individual sport.  We were also able to host our friends and have local spectators.  It was the first time I had the opportunity to be more of a race spectator even as I still participated – I was in awe watching the elite athletes not just survive but thrive in their swim (especially the woman who beat many of the guys out of the water) and maneuver their bike transitions with shoes in their pedals.
After a nice Italian dinner at our favorite local restaurant, we along with our guests – Antoine, Ursula and Allison – settled in for as early a bedtime as we could manage.  Mike and I were already awake when the alarm went off at 4:15am.  Thirty minutes later, we were out the door.  While on one hand, it was our home turf, the logistics were extra tricky with two transition areas over one mile apart.
Allison was our team swimmer
Upon picking up our timing chip, we did a quick team practice how we would “pass the baton”.  We decided our strategy would be for a single person to both take it off and to put it on the other person.
The race kicked off at 6:30am with Antoine seeded in the Elite and first wave.  Allison went 15 minutes later in the fifth wave.  As I looked out at the nearly mile long swim course, I thought “wow, that looks long!”  But I just told Allison “it just looks long – you do it in the pool all the time!”  
 As we waited for Antoine and Allison to emerge, I came to realize how nerve wracking it is as a spectator to be wondering where your swimmer is as you just see a sea of caps – both out of desire to see them do well and for their safety (I got more nervous as I overheard the organizers on the shore saying there was one person being pulled out). 
Mike was our relay team cyclist

Our friend Frances along with her 10 week daughter (Mike’s Goddaughter) arrived at the beach in time to help us cheer on Allison as she completed the course.  I was so happy I had convinced Allison to buy swim booties as people were cutting their feet on the shells.  As Allison approached the transition area, I didn’t see Mike in his designated spot but he came running from the bathroom (the Italian meal wasn’t sitting well) to successfully receive the chip and proceed on the bike.
Antoine is - just awesome!
After waiting for the shuttle, Ursula and I arrived at T2 just in time to see Antoine zoom in on his Scott triathlon bike.  Being the elite triathlete he is, he gracefully had his feet out of his shoes before he ever touched the ground.  Allison and Frances caught up to us as I watched the clock and the stream of cyclists coming in.  I knew the fastest possible pace would probably be 25 mph but with hills, Mike would do something less than that and come in somewhere more than 1 hour and likely less than 1 ½ hours.  So at the 1 hour 15 min market, I went to the transition area and sure enough, he appeared at 1 hour 20 minutes and 11 seconds.  As I took his timing chip off and put it on me, I fumbled a bit and almost lost my water.  As I hit the hot pavement minutes later, I was glad to have retrieved it.
It was HOT!  We were in the midst of a heat wave and by 8:45 we were in full sun.  The first two miles went ok and then I really started feeling the heat as I ran through a particularly sunny section of the course.  Halfway through my fan club kept me going and Ursula’s “Cathy placard” (she had one for each of us as she was forced to the sidelines with an ear infection) made me smile.
On the second loop, the Stamford fire engine’s water spray felt really good.  As I – wearing my Army shorts – passed a 61 year old with an Army jersey on, I encouraged him with an Army Strong greeting, the campaign created by my former company.  “You Betcha!” he said proudly.
For a short time I befriended a fellow mid-forties woman as we kept relatively the same pace.  “My friends think I’m crazy,” she said.  “One third of mine think it’s cool, one third think it’s crazy, and I’ve recruited the other one third,” I replied.  It was her first Olympic distance and somehow she mustered the strength to pull ahead of me at the end.
I was happy as the finish line approached.  A young 24 year old male passed me, high fived me and encouraged me to keep going strong as I looked like I was wilting.  And, I did just that, exerting my last bit of speed at the end and passing him right at the finish line.  He was very cool and gracious and high fived me again!
I was the team runner
We finished 27th out of 49 relay teams at 3:01:19.  I accomplished my goal to finish the 10K run in less than 1 hour at 58:16.  Allison achieved her goal with a strong swim at 40:51.  Mike placed 10 out of 49 amongst the relay bike participants with an average speed of over 18 mph on some hilly terrain.  And Antoine placed 8th overall amongst all race participants!!!
Now we’re already planning how Team Just Tri It will shave off 1 minute 20 seconds to finish in under 3 hours.   I think we can…”I get by with a little help from my friends…”
Team Just Tri It