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Kim's Quassy Report
Let me preface this report by stating that I swore I'd never do this race. I've done the Oly for the past 4 years and have come a long way but could never imagine doing 2x the Oly. But I did it for a few reasons... 1) I wanted to do a hilly half before registering for Lake Placid in 15 and 2) I got a free entry.
So, there I was. I had decent training leading up to the race but not as much bike miles as I would have liked due to crappy spring weather, I had a rough day before the race as a result of getting a flat tire on my car the day before that took like 3 hours out of my life and caused unnecessary stress. Who knew a new car wouldn't come with a spare? Was hoping that would mean no flats on race day!
At the swim start i realized i forgot my Gu and was feeling hungry. Not a great way to start so I found a guy with some extra and had Powerbar banana.blueberry thingy. Crisis averted! Started in the last swim wave and felt pretty good. Nothing to write home about. Walked fairly leisurely to T1 to keep HR down and get the wetsuit stripping started. Got all my stuff together, ate a Stinger waffle, drank 1/2 red Bull and off I went.
I had Coach P's power file analysis screencast from my last Quassy RR in my head and I tried to manage as best I could with my FTP and running ability, or lack of. I had some saddle discomfort after about 20 miles, either due to tri shorts vs bike shorts, or perhaps trying new shorts wasn't the best idea, but none of my others were comfortable either! Peed around mile 15 (tried to go during the swim but couldn't!). Stuck to my nutrition and had a total of 3 bottles of my special Infinit/Gatorade blend and 1/2 bottle of Gatorade from the course. Loved the descents! Coming into transition, I felt like a celebrity with my cheering section waiting for me, all 13 of them! Overall, .76IF, which was about what I did for the 2nd RR but I think I managed it a bit better this time, but still not perfect (even with Coach P in my head). I was aiming for .76-.78IF based on my weak run.
The run was going to be tough and it was. I felt pretty good on the flats and downhills but walked and whined on the hills. Lol. Knowing I had my crowd kept me going. Got a boost from the crowd at the turn by the park and kept going. Did a little more running then walked that last hill before the finish. My crowd greeted me and my friend's kids ran across the finish with me which was cool.
My results were about what I expected. Here are the results compared with my previous Half Iron races, although u can't really compare Quassy to anything else!!
Timberman 2011
Swim 56:59 (lake, no wetsuit)
Bike 3:48
Run 3:02
Total 7:56
Rev3 Maine 2012
Swim 45:46 (ocean, wetsuit, rumored to be short)
Bike 3:29
Run 3:12 (very rough, felt like crap)
Total 7:39
Rev3 Quassy 2014
Swim 45:08 (lake, wetsuit)
Bike 4:02
Run 2:56
Total 7:54
Goal was just to finish but was hoping to get closer to the Maine time. thought i might have been able to get a better run, but the hills were just too much. Got a swim and a run PR, so not bad. I have only been swimming once a week this season so surprising that the swim was my best in terms of age group ranking!
I'm doing Timberman again this year so that will be good to compare apples to apples.
As a side note, I have decided to NOT do Placid in '15 as my 2nd IM. Maybe someday, but I'm just not strong enough for a tough, hilly course like that, and feel another year won't be enough based on my time at Quassy. I may consider Maryland in '15, or maybe do another year of short course....
Great to see all the EN crew at lunch sat. and on race day! You guys rock!
So, there I was. I had decent training leading up to the race but not as much bike miles as I would have liked due to crappy spring weather, I had a rough day before the race as a result of getting a flat tire on my car the day before that took like 3 hours out of my life and caused unnecessary stress. Who knew a new car wouldn't come with a spare? Was hoping that would mean no flats on race day!
At the swim start i realized i forgot my Gu and was feeling hungry. Not a great way to start so I found a guy with some extra and had Powerbar banana.blueberry thingy. Crisis averted! Started in the last swim wave and felt pretty good. Nothing to write home about. Walked fairly leisurely to T1 to keep HR down and get the wetsuit stripping started. Got all my stuff together, ate a Stinger waffle, drank 1/2 red Bull and off I went.
I had Coach P's power file analysis screencast from my last Quassy RR in my head and I tried to manage as best I could with my FTP and running ability, or lack of. I had some saddle discomfort after about 20 miles, either due to tri shorts vs bike shorts, or perhaps trying new shorts wasn't the best idea, but none of my others were comfortable either! Peed around mile 15 (tried to go during the swim but couldn't!). Stuck to my nutrition and had a total of 3 bottles of my special Infinit/Gatorade blend and 1/2 bottle of Gatorade from the course. Loved the descents! Coming into transition, I felt like a celebrity with my cheering section waiting for me, all 13 of them! Overall, .76IF, which was about what I did for the 2nd RR but I think I managed it a bit better this time, but still not perfect (even with Coach P in my head). I was aiming for .76-.78IF based on my weak run.
The run was going to be tough and it was. I felt pretty good on the flats and downhills but walked and whined on the hills. Lol. Knowing I had my crowd kept me going. Got a boost from the crowd at the turn by the park and kept going. Did a little more running then walked that last hill before the finish. My crowd greeted me and my friend's kids ran across the finish with me which was cool.
My results were about what I expected. Here are the results compared with my previous Half Iron races, although u can't really compare Quassy to anything else!!
Timberman 2011
Swim 56:59 (lake, no wetsuit)
Bike 3:48
Run 3:02
Total 7:56
Rev3 Maine 2012
Swim 45:46 (ocean, wetsuit, rumored to be short)
Bike 3:29
Run 3:12 (very rough, felt like crap)
Total 7:39
Rev3 Quassy 2014
Swim 45:08 (lake, wetsuit)
Bike 4:02
Run 2:56
Total 7:54
Goal was just to finish but was hoping to get closer to the Maine time. thought i might have been able to get a better run, but the hills were just too much. Got a swim and a run PR, so not bad. I have only been swimming once a week this season so surprising that the swim was my best in terms of age group ranking!
I'm doing Timberman again this year so that will be good to compare apples to apples.
As a side note, I have decided to NOT do Placid in '15 as my 2nd IM. Maybe someday, but I'm just not strong enough for a tough, hilly course like that, and feel another year won't be enough based on my time at Quassy. I may consider Maryland in '15, or maybe do another year of short course....
Great to see all the EN crew at lunch sat. and on race day! You guys rock!
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I may still attend IMLP camp this year, since I've already paid for it, but will probably reserve the race for another year... Looks like it will be between Challenge AC and IMMaryland.