Kevin's Quassy Half Race Report
Quassy Half was the first race of my second tri season, and my first long-course race (first season was one oly and four sprint). I trained for this as my A-race: 20-week November Intermediate OS, 10-week Beginner HIM Race Prep. I ended taper right at race weight of 144.6 lbs, TSB of +23.
Arrived at Quassy early Saturday afternoon, just in time to get in a quick swim, which felt as unnatural as every open water swim ever has so didn't exactly bode well; damn I hate the swim, maybe I should give up long-course and stick to sprints where it's short. After athlete briefing I drove the bike course. Sooo gorgeous, and I got to see that the "big hill" wasn't so bad, and which downhills ended in sharp turns. But the drive took longer than I expected; combined with bad Mapquest directions, I was unforgivably late to the 5pm EN team meeting. If there was a team photo taken I missed it, but I did enjoy dinner with Henry, Brandon, Scott, and Larry. Ate 3/4 of a small veggie pizza. On the way back to my hotel, I drove the run course. That last hill, yikes. I went to bed at 9am and slept surprisingly well.
2am: 2 x Odwalla Super Protein Shake, 580 calories total
4:45am: Large bowl of yogurt/berries/granola, thermos of coffee pre-made with cream and sugar the day before (Lesson 1: this doesn't keep well for 24 hours, ugh - hotel coffee would have been an improvement)
6:20am: Arrived at my bike in transition to setup. Only 20 minutes till transition closes at 6:40, but that should be enough. Then the PA blares that transition closes at 6:30 - I only have 10 minutes!. Fortunately I'd made a complete transition activity checklist, and organized my swim, bike, and run gear into three separate bags, so in 10 minutes flat I actually manage to get everything set up properly - or maybe not, as it turned out.
7:00am: Ate a gel with water, and made several bathroom trips to ensure my bladder was empty at race start.
SWIM
7:32am: 76 M45-49 age-groupers start the last swim wave. That's five times the size of any tri AG I've been in. And dang, those buoys are so far away. I'm fully prepared to be the last person out of the water. I'll live with that; I'm learning to swim TI-style, in a wetsuit I don't kick at all, it's all balance/reach/glide so I may be slow but I'll exit with more energy and catch up on the bike & run. But once I get past the initial scrum, I actually start to feel comfortable for the first time ever in an open water swim. And then I start to pass pink caps - swimmers from the previous wave. I'm not going to be last out of the water!
Swim Time: 38:32. 39/76 AG - middle of the pack! I can do this! Looks like I won't have to withdraw from Timberman after all.
Lessons Learned: 1) Get more wetsuit open water swim practice, to learn how to hold form despite the lack of feedback you get swimming pool laps. 2) Continue to work on form. I'd like to shave 4 minutes off my time. 3) Focus on looking down when clear of other swimmers, which surprisingly was most of the swim. I kept looking forward, and not only did it mess with my form and balance but my neck was already tired at the start of the bike ride - not good. 4) Sight more frequently after making a course correction, to avoid overcorrecting.
BIKE
I'm riding a Cervelo P2, PowerTap/Joule, Hed3 front/disc cover rear, race tires, latex tubes. 3-hour 600cal Speedfil of 150%-strength Infinit, and between-the-bars water bottle that I'll swap out at aid stations. First 30 minutes, water only, target 172W, actual NP 168W, VI 1.11. At the 30-minute mark I switch to Infinit+water every 5 minutes. Minutes 31-140, target 182W, actual NP 174, VI 1.07. This is my first time racing EN-style, and it's hilly, and I can barely resist observing to the woman next to me, "Have you noticed that this is the eighth hill you've passed me out of your saddle hammering, and just like the previous seven hills this one will end with me passing you on the downhill coasting - don't you think my way might be easier than yours???". By the time I reach minute 90, I'm feeling the urge to pee - it's just like both race rehearsals, similar cool temp, not sweating, getting overly hydrated. I decide to hold it until aid station 3 at minute 140, but that turns out to be a mistake: by then I'm desperate, distracted, and when I finally go I'm so tensed up it takes me 3 minutes. (I have the same problem again when I stop at a portapotty as I exit T2 - probably cost me at least 5 minutes in total.) Minutes 141-190, target 182W, actual NP 166, VI 1.09, some big downhills, and I roll back into transition. Overall TSS 172.4, IF 0.74, NP 171, VI 1.09, HR 148.
Bike Time: 3:13:49. 46/76 AG - WTF? I do not swim better than I bike. I do not LOSE 4 places on the bike leg, especially on a hilly course where w/kg matters. But then, 4 hours later, when I'm putting my bike in the car, I discover the rear tire is nearly flat. I had pumped it to 110psi that morning. Today I checked the tube for leaks (none found), then put it back on the bike, re-inflated it, put weight on the bike, and 8 hours later it's still full. How did it go flat yesterday? I wonder if in my hurry to clear transition, I failed to screw the Presta valve all the way closed, and as the wheel bounced around on the road it jiggled the valve open and shut and let out a bit of air each time?
Lessons Learned: 1) When nature calls, say "Yes ma'am right away". 2) Solve the mystery of the missing air.
RUN
A week of taper is a glorious thing. I start running off the bike, and unlike all the RR's and brick runs, this time I feel good. First 3 miles (the only flat/downhill bit), target pace 7:32, actual NGP 7:52. And then come the hills, and my Garmin becomes useless as a pace tool. I resort to just taking the uphills very slowly, picking up the pace on the flats, flying down the downhills, and keeping my HR around 160. Taking the steeper uphills so slowly is something I haven't practiced, and I find it hard to maintain good run form. (My glutes and legs are sore afterward, and I think this is why). I see a few competitors pass me in the first few miles, but eventually I catch most of them (but not Scott F, he's a monster). I cut my hydration back to a few gulps of Gatorade at each station, still have to take a pit stop at mile 4 but at least it takes under a minute. In theory I should be at 7:02 MP now, but even though I'm feeling good and passing competitors, it turns out even on the flats I'm only running an 8:11 NGP. On a flatter course I'd be using Avg Speed as a whip but I've given up on it here, and as a result I'm not going as fast as I should. And right at the point where I should be giving it everything I have left, they put one final hill, the steepest of all at 7.5%. I shuffle up that, kick up some speed and cross the finish line feeling better than I should - I could have pushed harder, but I played it too conservatively on this hilly course. Good news, this was the first long run where I had zero IT band issues, thanks to daily foam rolling a la Leigh. I've also started her recommended ITB prevention stretches. Thank you Leigh!!!
Run Time: 1:50:54, 23/76. That's more like it.
Lessons learned: 1) before I do another hilly race, do a few hilly long runs to practice hill climbs and pacing and build up the hill-climbing muscles. 2) find a race with a less hilly run course. I mean, I'll come back to Quassy, it's a great well-run race, but it would be even better if they just got rid of that last hill.
OVERALL
Total Time: 5:48:04, 33/76. I'm not sure how I feel about this. At last year's sprint races, my definition of a successful race was a podium finish, or at least top 20%. That definition doesn't work here - the field is much bigger and much stronger. So was this a success? My first HIM, a tough course, I managed to finish the race, in the top half of my field at least, nutrition worked perfectly even if hydration was too much, had a breakthrough swim, didn't end up in the med tent, and learned some valuable lessons that will help me next time. I guess I'll be satisfied with that. Those of you who, like me, are not at the pointy end in a field like this, how do you judge whether your race was a success?
Final lesson learned: 1) Reapply sunscreen ASAP after finishing race.
Looking forward to seeing many of you at Timberman!
Comments
I'm doing Timberman too, as my first 70.3. I'm hoping the hills at Quassy have prepared me (at least mentally) for Timberman. (I have heard Quassy is hillier)
In terms of judging whether your race was a success, I think success is in the eyes of the racer.... But people also have the tendency to be hardest on themselves, and not be able to celebrate a success if it does not meet some pre-determined criteria. For example, I wanted to finish the Oly in under 4 hours. (Last year I did 4:22) I finished in 4:09 so was a little disappointed, but realized 13 mins. faster is not 22 mins but it is still faster. Next year, under 4 hours.
Maybe I'll catch you and the rest of the EN crew at Timberman!
I've heard Quassy is a brutally hilly course. I am also not at the pointy end of the field, so for me, a successful race is one where I am able to push myself to the limits of my ability and still finish. If you do that, as it sounds like you did, then I would call it a success. Great job!
Great job to get through and know what to think about. If my experience is any guide, you'll have a big bump from HIM #1 to HIM #2. Just enough things to learn even if you think you did everything right.
And you are 100% right about sunscreen at the end of the race! I always pack a long sleeve garment to throw on after.
Wm