Skinnyman / "I'm all that" RR
Skinnyman is a 800M/14mi/3.1 sprint in Skaneateles NY, a perfect little lake just south of Syracuse. My wife is from there so we have family everywhere. Last year they started "I'm all that" which combines the sprint on Saturday with 3 races on Sunday. 1 mile open water swim at 8:00, 2 mi uphill TT at noon and then a 4 mile road race at 4:00. Lot of hard efforts in a short period of time. Last year I ended up 4th AG so was hoping I could do well even though it really favors those that can swim.
We arrived in town on Friday afternoon, registered and had a nice evening with my brother and sister in law and their kids as well as an additional sister in law. The weather forecast was a bit sketchy. After 90 and muggy on Friday it was ranging between 50's and sunny and 40's and raining. Gotta love Syracuse weather. We got up and it was nice and the rain had passed through. Awesome.
View of the lake:
My wife Jenny before the start:
There was a bunch of people that I knew around on race morning. Always fun. Pretty good slowtwitch contingent and ENer Jeremy Dodds.
For a bit of background the first sprint I ever did was Skinnyman 3 years ago. It has never gone well for me. This year was not different. Stupid mistakes.
Started up front. Super violent for the first 100 yards. Far more brutal than any ironman I have done. Sorted itself out. Swam well for the outbound leg. Made the turn and found what I thought were really good feet to sit on. Made the second turn and I was holding on for dear life. Managed to do so for a while and was convinced I was having a great swim. Then the yelling started. The "fish" I was killing myself to stay behind had made about at 140 degree turn rather than a 90 and like a total jackass I was following without sighting and did not know. Made the thing much longer. Stupid rookie mistake. Crossed the mat in 13:26 1:41/100. Should have been able to swim 1:30 easily. Crap.
My lovely wife was on the super EN swim plan this year. The last time she swam was last year at the same race. Funny part is that she cut 2 minutes off her time last year. 21 minutes and change. I guess abandoning freestyle for breatstroke was the key.
T1 was uneventful. Due to road construction the route was a little different this year so there was about a quarter mile no passing zone leaving transition. Due to my awesome swim I was behind a guy on a hybrid. It was only a minute and 4 seconds but felt like an eon [at .64] before I made the turn at was able to hit the gas. I have never really felt good on the bike in a sprint. Just feels weird. I was out of breath and my legs hurt for the first half. I got passed by a few people, one guy on a road bike WTF. There were 2 who passed me [road bike and his brother] who I never got back. The bike feels like a false flat the whole way. Chip seal to boot. One section the road was gone down to dirt and gravel. Slowed way down and picked my way through it. The guy in front of me tried to stay on the gas and got a flat for his effort. I have historically ridden faster in half ironmans than at skinnyman. By the time I started to feel "good" the bike was about over. Someday I will figure it out. I was riding all alone for the end. No one to chase does not help. Back through the no pass/slow zone and I was off the bike. Power numbers look better than it felt:
T2 was the second stupid mistake of the day. Put my right shoe on and the tounge was bent/crooked. Rather than just deal with it I took it back off. Natch the footbed came out. Then my calf cramped up huge. Second try was no better with the shoe. Made no difference anyhow except my calf hurt.
Due to the aforementioned road construction the run was totally different. The usual one has a big hill in the first mile then was mostly downhill. The revised route was semi evil looking. About 100 yards of flat by the start, uphill for almost a mile, turn and down a gentle hill, 180 and back up it, when you thought it was safe and could run down to the finish there was a detour around a culdesack that went down to the level and the lake and back up. The second stupid thing I had done was to let the kids play with the garmin and not check it after. As it was dead I just had my reg watch on. Not a big deal for pacing but I would like to have the data. Anyhow, ran well as was happy to go 19:20 for that course.
Happiness is running down hill:
The race which is usually stacked was super stacked this year. I ended up 24 OA and 8th AG. That guy that passed my on a road bike ran 17:19, yeash.
Here is Jenny chicking some dudes:
at the finish:
My calf and my old friend the nagging achillies were feeling very tight after the race. Not good. That night was Jenny's 20th high school reunion. It was fun. Ended up being out way too late. Got to bed by 2. Whoops.
Weather was still decent the next day for the open water swim. You take a boat out to the swim. This year they made sure that I could not jump off the top which was disappointing. Oh well, guess we can blame that rule on the lawyers :-)
Swam pretty well. It is always a cool race. Swam 28:44. Ok, no way to tell really how far it was. Lots of actual swimmers show up for the race. Did not even make the first page of the results. Here is the sprint to the finish:
Got some breakfast. Back to the house and played with the kids til it was time to go to the TT. The TT is unique. At least thats what people who have ever done another TT besides this one tell me. It is at the local ski hill and is flat for about a quarter mile, 90 degree turn straight up for a mile then 90 degree turn and false flat and one roller to the finish. Last year I managed 382 watts so I was hoping to hold 400 this year. Was second AG last year so I figured I had a good chance at another pint glass. Did a bit of a warm up, needed much more but the logistics were tough. Thought I would have time but the start came up quick.
In the "start house" [not quite the tdf]
off to the races, putting out or about to put out 979 watts:
Did a couple stupid things. Had a water bottle on the bike about half full. It was aero. Had all my flat stuff in the bento. Thought about taking both off but as you have to ride back to the start I thought both may come in handy. Also waved to my sister in law and niece near the start and ended up taking the turn too wide. My number was way loose sticking out on my right side. The reason why I mention all the little things will be obvious later. I hit the bottom of the hill hard. Climbed seated almost the whole way. I do not really feel comfortable standing and climbing on that bike, the angles are weird. Did stand and mash a tad near the top when I was tired. I felt like mu lungs were going to come out. I hit the top of the steep part at NP 422. There was a big cross wind / head wind at the top of the hill. Almost put it in the corn. I let up a bit near the end. Stayed in the bars when I should have gone for max watts. Hit the line. My lungs have hurt since. Been hacking. Not good. Very hard effort in a very short time. Kinda like doing an 8 minute 30/30.
Coon Hill:
Duration: 8:22
Work: 190 kJ
TSS: 22.7 (intensity factor 1.275)
Norm Power: 388
VI: 1.02
Distance: 2.113 mi
Elevation Gain: 447 ft
Elevation Loss: 66 ft
Grade: 3.4 % (382 ft)
Min Max Avg
Power: 2 979 379 watts
Cadence: 46 173 87 rpm
Speed: 4.5 35.8 15.2 mph
The fade at the end killed my power goal. 22 TSS in 8 minutes seems crazy though. Time was 8:22, 3rd AG was 8:19, 4th was 8:20. Could the little details saved my 3 seconds? Maybe.
My fans:
Due to the achillies thing and wanted to get home I skipped the 4 mile road race this year. Got bigger fish to fry in Syracuse in 2 weeks and did not want to mess with it. Feels fine today. Maybe I am getting smarter as I get older. Time will tell. Did notice that the guy that won my AG in the I'm all that race the 4 mile course in 22:26. It has 2 big hills in it and is a wood chip trail and grass for the last mile. Stupid fast.
Oh well there is always next year. I really dislike making silly mistakes. Still had fun as usual...
Comments
P, I think the closest thing in this basic area is around the Black Fly tri up near Waterville Valley, with a sprint, oly, and a TT. Seriously thinking about putting this one on the calendar next year.