A Pandemic Triathlon

We had just about written off the hope of racing a triathlon this year when we received an invitation for a private triathlon with 15 spots from a mysterious person named Pierce Kirby.  We thought we knew all of the triathletes on Martha’s Vineyard, but Pierce is a native Islander who has been living abroad for a number of years until now, and like us, found himself to be a pandemic refugee on the Island.  He and some friends had signed up for the Hyannis triathlon and when it was cancelled, they decided to make their own triathlon.  And so, on September 12, 2020 – just 3 weeks after the invitation came out - 14 of us showed up as legacy members for the Vineyard Group Triathlon.

 

Lambert's Cove Beach

We took advantage of Labor Day Monday the  week before the race to scout out the course.  We had actually never swum in Lambert’s Cove since it’s restricted to Vineyard Town residents who are members during the season, but we arrived at sunrise to discover yet another beautiful part of Martha’s Vineyard we had never seen.  After 5 of us did a training swim, we went to Pierce’s house for a guided tour of the running course.  This was no regular run course; it was a trail run with about 15 turns.  Pierce led us on his mountain bike, pointing out all of the houses off the beaten track where his relatives live.  His family and their Vineyard properties go back 13 generations to Thomas Mayhew who established Martha’s Vineyard’s English settlement.  The following is written on Wikipedia:

 

Thomas Mayhew was born in Tisbury, in the county of Wiltshire in England, in 1593. The family left England in 1631/2 during the Great Migration of Puritans that brought 20,000 settlers to Massachusetts in thirteen years. In 1641, Thomas secured Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, the Elizabeth Islands, and other islands as a proprietary colony from Sir Ferdinando Gorges and the Earl of Sterling. He bought the County for 40 pounds and two beaverskin hats from William Alexander, the 2nd Earl of Sterling. 

Mayhew established himself as governor of Martha's Vineyard in 1642 and sent his son, Thomas the Younger, with about forty English families to settle there. He himself followed four years later. Together he and the younger Thomas established Martha's Vineyard's first settlement and called it Great Harbor, now Edgartown, and farming and whaling enterprises were begun.

Mayhew and his fellow settlers found a large and economically stable native population of about 3,000 living in permanent villages, led by four sachems(chiefs). Relations between the first settlers and their Wampanoag neighbors were peaceful and courteous. Under the leadership of his son, a minister, they instituted a policy of respect and fair dealing with the Wampanoag natives that was unequaled anywhere. One of the first of Mayhew's orders was that no land was to be taken from the native islanders, the Wampanoags, without their consent or without fair payment. From this time forward, the colonial settlers and Indians lived without the bloodshed that marked the history of European colonies elsewhere in the New World.

From the beginning, Mayhew had worked to preserve the original political institutions of the Indians. Religion and government were distinct matters, he told the Indian chiefs. When one of your subjects becomes a Christian, he is still under your jurisdiction. Indian land was guarded against further encroachment by white settlers. So successful were these policies that during the bloody battles of King Philip's War, in 1675-1676, the Vineyard Indians never stirred, although they outnumbered the English on the island by twenty to one.^[5]

By 1660 there were about 85 white people living peaceably among the natives, earning their living by farming and fishing. The Mayhew family, which from that time forth became an integral part of island history, wanted to share its religion with the natives, but the Wampanoags were not too interested, having their own spiritual faith. However, once it was clear that, though Mayhew was the governor, the sachems remained in charge of their people, some became curious about the white man's God. When a native named Hiacoomes expressed an interest, Mayhew invited him into his home and instructed him in English and Christianity.^[4] Hiacoomes, in return, taught Mayhew the native language. As soon as Mayhew could converse with the natives, he would some days "walk 20 miles through uncut forests to preach the Gospel...in wigwam or open field".^[6]

There is a stained glass window in the baptismal font in the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. depicting Rev. Thomas Mayhew Jr. baptizing a native.^[7]

 

And so it was appropriate that we found ourselves running through the same fields Pierce’s ancestors had traversed for over 300 years.  The run course was confusing enough that four of us decided to do it one more time a few days later.

Pierce's kickoff

On September 12, we were now the settlers welcoming our fellow competitors from the mainland.  Other than his friend Matt, Pierce didn’t know any of the competitors he had recruited through word of mouth.  We arrived at Pierce’s house, which also served as the finish line and T2, around 8:30am for registration.  This was no normal registration – our bibs and t-shirts along with an atypical SWAG item – a mask - were neatly wrapped with a bow and unveiled to us.  We then loaded up our bikes into four vehicles for transport to the beach. There was just one snafu – Matt briefly lost his car keys, but as one competitor pointed out, we’ve seen bigger snafus with professionally run races.

Once at Lambert’s Cove Beach, we set up our bikes at T1b around the bike rack, and headeddown to the beach at T1a.  This added transition area was necessary for 2 reasons:  We needed to save our masks (mandatory) and wear foot coverings (optional) to run back on the narrow trail to T1b.

Jen bodymarks Mike

The competitors lined up on the beach and Pierce introduced us to “the Commodore”, his friend Ted, who would be leading us in the National Anthem (via his Phone) and air horn start.  A boat and a kayak had been stationed on the swim course to support us if needed.  At the start due to slightly wavy conditions, a makeshift rule was also established that if you needed to drop out of the swim, you could continue with the race provided you waited until the last swimmer exited the water.

 

And we were off!  I had not swum much since mid-March when pools closed.  We swam some in open water in July but then I lost my regular swimming partner and motivation when Mike developed Lyme disease, and then the jellyfish arrived.  Our favorite Ice House pond only opened mid-summer and with impossible-to-get reservations.  Nevertheless, despite being slow, I stayed on course and navigated the waves for the half mile swim, and arrived on shore 24:45 minutes later to find Mike, Pierce, and 2 competitors who had opted for the new DNF swim rule.  I donned my mask and ran the .5 mile along the beach and the sand covered trail (Stephen del Monte of DelMoSports would approve of the sand run!).

 

The course

Off on the bike, I had home court advantage since it mostly followed our weekly Sunday ride.  For the first 10 miles, I maintained a 16+ mph pace despite some hills but the headwind was tough on the last 5 miles so I finished the 16.4 mile course in 1:03:27.  Into T2 (aka Pierce’s driveway), I did a quick transition and started off on the run.  Early in the run, I saw Pierce in the distance.  I had motivation to keep up a good pace!  “Great course, Pierce!” I announced as I passed him.

 

But soon enough, I was happy to have him not be too far behind as I became confused.  I thought for sure a sign was missing based on my earlier course reconnaissance, and he confirmed it was.  My friend’s Shelly’s words from our training run rang in my head, “you never know when someone may take down a sign!”.

 

I finished the 3.5 mile run in 35:29 for a 10:13 pace – I just took it as a victory that I hadn’t tripped on any of the many trail obstacles or gotten lost.  I crossed the finish line at 2:14:07, and later learned that put me at 11/14.  Many of the competitors did indeed get lost on the run course, including one who lives close by and ran over 8 miles!

 

Our after-race party concluded the day in Menemsha with an awesome lobster dinner and beautiful sunset. How many $45 dollar races can you say got that benefit?!

 

This race was not about getting credit for a USAT race, qualifying for anything, or getting Ironman bragging rights.  It was simply about the joy of racing in a beautiful place during a pandemic.  And for that, we have Pierce and all of his ancestors to be thankful for!

New Friends and Skills at TriDot Ambassador Camp

The inaugural TriDot Ambassador Camp drew 80 ambassadors from across the U.S.

The progression of my triathlon journey was so evident last weekend.  It’s been a little over two years since I started on the TriDot training program and one year since I became a TriDot ambassador.  When TriDot announced the Ambassador camp, I declared my February birthday present to my husband Mike.

I trialed TriDot through its preseason project in late 2017 to get started training for my first 70.3 race.  Two months of free of training -- what did I have to lose?  I fully expected it to be some sort of marketing ploy, rather than the game changing program that it has been for me.  Seeing progress in my performance after two months and feeling like it was giving me good direction, I stuck with the plan “for a little while”.  After all, I was probably just going to do this one 70.3 and then go back to doing sprints and Olympics through my self-coaching methods.  It didn’t turn out that way.

Back then If you had told me that I would go on not only to run farther without injuries than I ever had, to finish the 70.3 feeling strong, and to declare that same day that I thought I could do a full Ironman, I wouldn’t have believed it.  Within a couple months after finishing Ironman Atlantic City 70.3, I signed up for Ironman Maryland and applied to become a TriDot Ambassador, seeing how life changing this program was for me.

For the last two years, I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie of the IAMTriDot and TriDot Ambassador Facebook communities.  It was such a thrill to arrive at camp and meet so many virtual friends face to face.  It began on Thursday night when fellow CT resident Kristin -- my weekend roommate -- showed up at my house for next morning’s early JFK flight to Austin, TX.  It wasn’t hard to spot fellow TriDotter’s at Austin’s airport – our TriDot and Ironman apparel was a dead giveaway!  

On Friday afternoon the staff welcomed us and led a social run along the river followed by dinner at Austin’s Faregrounds, an upscale food court with many dining options.  While it’s always great to be in the company of fellow triathletes who share your passion for the sport, our language around the dinner table took it to a whole new level as we talked about years on TriDot, “Train X”, “Race X”, and all of the parts of the country represented by our gang of 80 attendees.

Trying out my new Roka wetsuit at Barton Springs

On Saturday morning, I was so excited to swim in Barton Springs, an expansive, three-acre sized fresh water pool I had seen in Triathlete magazine years ago.  The spring-fed pool maintains a temperature of 68-70 degrees year-round and was a great opportunity to debut my new Roka wetsuit.  After a quick hot shower, we walked over to our reserved section in Zilker Park for breakfast and a presentation on running biomechanics by Coach Jeff Raines.  Wow, I was blown away!  

Jeff is a running encyclopedia, and I quickly realized how much I have to learn to become a faster and more efficient runner.  This was further evidenced as we moved into an hour of running drills.  Jeff would expertly demonstrate a drill and we would clumsily give it our best effort.

Coach Jeff Raines leads in running drills

By lunch time, we were famished!  Fortunately, a variety of ethnic food trucks are a short walk away from Zilker Park.  After lunch, we quickly dropped off our gear at the hotel and headed outside for a running shoe discussion.  Jeff must have a room dedicated to all of his running shoes given the plethora of brands and models he displayed.  Then we put all of the running theory to practice with some fartlek, tempo, and fast paced running intervals.  The key things I learned through these running sessions are:

• Your body generally should have a 3-6 degree forward lean, but 10 max.  Your fists should not come higher than your breast nipple.
• Most age groups athletes should be shooting for a 160-180 cadence.  It will be lower if you have long legs and short torso and higher if you have a shorter stride. Your cadence should not dramatically change with your pace – for example, upon reviewing my Garmin data after our running intervals, on our fastest interval, my cadence hit 193 and it’s no wonder that I blew up!
• Your vertical oscillation (which can be measured if you have a foot pod with your Garmin) should be a max of 2 – 2.5 inches or you are not using your energy efficiently
• For Z2 pace, you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth with a longer exhale than inhale.  For Z3/4, you breathe in and out through your mouth.  And for upper Z4 and above you will be taking a longer inhale and shorter exhale.
• A Hoka thick soled running shoe has the same heal to toe drop as a minimalist shoe, making them essentially the equivalent for form but with added cushioning

After finishing a little extra running to hit my long run workout and a quick shower, it was dinner time.  Our bus descended upon Matt’s Famous El Rancho, an Austin Tex-Mex institution since 1952.  It’s fitting that Matt was an Olympic cross country gold medal winner runner in 1942 before founding his restaurant.  

The dinner conversations got deeper as I learned the story of how Yoli, whom I had met on the social run, had escaped Venezuela and gained political asylum more than a decade ago, leaving behind her family and an established business to start over rather than face jail.  I learned how Coach Tri Silk, whom I had previously met at Eagleman 70.3, is an FBI agent by day and a coach on the side to help athletes like Adam, sitting next to him.  Adam had gastric sleeve surgery and through a combination of the surgery, a new diet and exercise he lost 230 lbs. and finished Ironman 70.3 Augusta this past year!

Swim session at Austin Aquatic and Sports Academy

On Sunday, we headed to the Austin Aquatic and Sports Academy, with a large 25 yard by 50 meter heated pool.  Coach Raines shared with us some swimming tips which we then had an opportunity to practice in the pool.  For me, Coach JoJo recommended I focus on my entry and catch.  My need to focus on this was not new as it’s what my swimming video analysis had revealed last year.  But the proposed solution was different – rather than focusing on bringing my fingers and hands down perpendicular to the water (which according to the coach I wasn’t doing anyway because my hands were smacking down flat in the water at times), she wanted me to punch the water at a downward angle and then do my catch.  It seemed counter intuitive but the theory goes that you will then set yourself up for a better pull.  I worked on it at the session, but then upon returning home as it’s becoming more natural, it definitely feels more efficient.

A key Sunday highlight was hearing from CEO and founder Jeff Booher, with whom I had spoken at the bar Saturday night.  I had recently listened to a TriDot’s podcast in which Jeff shares how the preseason project and the company has evolved – it’s a fascinating story of having the vision that there is a better way, the belief that you can chart a path that’s never been done before, and the guts to make it happen.  

CEO Jeff Booher gives us some TriDot insight

Part of what makes TriDot so special is that its staff is grounded in and actively lives a solid set of core values.  Jeff Booher has hired and empowered an awesome, competent, caring and humble small team.  Coach John Mayfield, VP of Athlete Services, trained with Jeff in the early days and ultimately quit his lucrative banking career to pursue his new passion.  Coach Elizabeth James, who recently turned pro, gave me a big hug as we met in person for the first time after she had helped me understand why my Eagleman run was tough and had given me the confidence I needed for Ironman Maryland.  Andrew the “average triathlete, voice of the people”, a former television producer, is the newest member of the team and the moderator voice of TriDot’s now popular podcasts.  Coach Jeff Raines, as I’ve previously described, is just plain awesome in his knowledge.  

Cindy meets her constituents live!

And Cindy Reeves, is the customer, friendly, operational powerhouse making all of the logistics and support run smoothly.  Cindy has probably interacted with every athlete in some capacity and it was touching to see her warmly greet and hug people and put faces to names.

It was remarkable observing how we TriDot Ambassadors share the same temperament, values and behaviors that TriDot’s staff exhibit.  Humbleness, gratitude, and focus on the next step of each of our journey’s was on full display throughout the weekend.

Airport farewells with new friends!

New Zealand Bike Ride #4: Alps 2 Ocean Great Ride, Twizel / Aoraki Mount Cook, South Island

All of our rides had great scenery, but we saved the most scenic ride for last.  Even the name of this trail, “Alps 2 Ocean”, has you at hello before you ever commence the ride.  Once again, we only did a portion of the ride – but if you were so inclined you could ride all 360km of this trail starting at the Aoraki/Mount Cook village and riding all the way to Oamaru on the Pacific Ocean.  Doing the end-to-end trail requires a short but exciting helicopter hop across the Tasman River (which we didn’t do).

Since we were staying in Twizel, we rented bikes from Lakeland Explorer and followed a local trail until we connected to the Alps 2 Ocean trail in the middle of an expansive pasture with mountain views off in the distance.  We were mostly by ourselves with an occasional cyclist or walker appearing in the distance.

Perfect picnic spot!

And then we arrived at Lake Pukaki with its turquois-blue waters juxtaposed against the snow-capped Aoraki Mount Cook on this blue-sky day.  We followed the trail around Lake Pukaki bathed in the delight of the lupine flowers and awe-inspiring, stunning lake and mountain views. It wasn’t hard to pick the perfect picnic spot.

We followed the trail to the end.  Continuing on would have required riding a stretch on the road, which was less scenic and populated with enough fast-moving vehicles that we decided to turn around.  We had considered adding on some additional kilometers and taking a different route back along the canal, but fatigue was setting in (I later realized I was coming down with a cold) so we returned via the same route to Twizel to complete a 25 mile ride.  We walked around the town, with me enjoying fresh fruit ice cream and Mike enjoying a bakery pastry as our reward for our cycling adventure.

New Zealand Bike Ride #3: Central Otago Wine Trail, Queenstown surroundings, South Island

Having developed a fascination with suspension bridges and loving cycling and vineyards, this trail was packed with fun!  We rented bikes first thing in the morning in Arrowtown from Arrowtown Bike Hire and road to trail along a creek which led us to the Otago wine trail.  This is just one trail that makes up a whole series of trails of one of the Great Rides.  The trail that inspired the creation of the New Zealand Cycle Trail network, the Otago Central Rail Trail follows the old railway line between Clyde and Middlemarch.

The highlights of the Wine Trail included two suspension bridges we had to cross, one of which was quite long.  The trick is to not look down and not have too many people the bridge at once!  We also came to the Kawarau Gorge Bridge, the world famous, original bungy jumping site.  Seeing even the most fearful people give it a go, it was tempting, but the vineyards were beckoning us.  The vineyards are all right along the trail so we stopped at a couple of them before turning around just as we approached the town of Gibbston for the return.

Bikes and wine: our favorite things!

We had thought ahead this time to bring a picnic lunch.  Like toilets, picnic tables abound in New Zealand and we found one in a scenic spot high above the gorge.  We made it back to Arrowtown mid-afternoon and felt fulfilled with our 25 mile ride so we returned the bikes and enjoyed a walk around historic Arrowtown, which reminded us of the Colorado Old Western towns.

Picnic lunch overlooking the Gorge

Arrowtown to Gibbston

New Zealand Bike Ride #2: Lakeside Trail; Mountain Trails to Huka Falls, Taupo, North Island

We had visions of doing one of the 22 Great Rides which is in Taupo, but upon investigating our options, we opted for other equally great trails, but they were not part of the Great Ride.  Doing the Great Ride in Taupo requires more advanced planning since there are not bike rental shops at the trail head, but there are tour companies that will do delivery and pickup.  There are plenty of bike rental shops in Taupo so we walked in one and reserved ours the day before our ride.

Lakeside Trail

We spent our morning doing an easy and leisurely ride along the lakeside trail.  With Lake Taupo being the size of Singapore, this 16 mile roundtrip trail only covers a small portion of the gigantic lake.  This trail includes paved, gravel, and off-trail detours as you weave among the walkers, but it was more maneuverable than many bike trails we ride on in the U.S.

After lunch in Taupo, we were game to try an intermediate trail.  We wanted to go see one of Taupo’s key attractions, the Huka Falls, and biking seemed like the perfect way to get there.  The trail follows the Waikato River, which is the longest river in New Zealand, running 425 kilometers through the North Island.  We came to our first view of New Zealand bungy jumpy off a platform built out from the tall cliff.

Start of Waikato River Trail

Continuing on, we came to a bike park where Mike tested out his not so extreme skills.  This was just the warm up for what was to come.  The trail got steeper, sometimes narrow and with obstacles.  It provided for a more adrenaline-filled ride compared to the scenic riding we had done thus far.  There were a few times when I had to get off my bike, but we felt like we had accomplished a feat upon arriving at the falls, especially compared to all the people disembarking their buses.

The Bike Park

Testing my skills and great views!

Huka Falls

Home of Ironman Events!

We decided to take the alternative, easier trail along the other side of the river back.  Some of the trails are under construction and we may have missed a trail head because we found ourselves on a paved road back part of the way.  Back at the bike shop in Taupo, we clocked 10 miles, making it a total of 26 miles for the day.  We were ready for happy hour back on our beautiful AirBnB deck overlooking the lake!

Our morning lakeside ride

Our afternoon ride to Huka Falls

New Zealand Bike Ride #1: Motu Dunes Trail, Opotiki, North Island

 The Motu Dunes Trail is one of the 22 Great Rides.  While staying in the beach town of Ohope, we made the 40 min. drive over to Opotiki and rented bikes from Motu Cycle Trails, which was close the trail entry.  Early in the trail, we encountered our first - of what would become many in New Zealand – suspension bridge.  We quickly discovered that in addition to riding on the opposite (left) side, bikes are installed with the brakes on opposite sides (so the left bike is the rear bike). This easy trail got us warmed up on mountain bikes, as we realized how even small hills on a mountain bike can require more dramatic shifting than on our road bikes.

This beautiful trail follows the coastline so we were treated to constant views of amazingly empty summertime beaches.  The trail threw in fun surprises like a boardwalk through marshland.  

Once the gravel trail ends, the trail continues on a very lightly trafficked road and connects with some of the intermediate trails in the hills.  We rode the road for about a mile and then turned around for our return.  One of the options would have been to take the bike rental’s shuttle up to the top of the hills and ride down through the intermediate trails to the Motu Dunes trail.

Since we hadn’t prepared a picnic lunch, we returned after 17 miles to Opotiki where we got a fish lunch at a local fish shop / restaurant.  We contemplated more afternoon riding but the jet lag kicked in so we decided this was a great warm up ride for what would come next.  We also realized the distance you can do on a mountain bike pales to what you can do on a road bike.