Rev 3 Quassy Half Ironman Race Report

It took me a while to prepare this race summary, but I finally got it done! 


On Sunday June 5, 2011, I did the Rev 3 Quassy Half Ironman race, which has the reputation of being one of the toughest half Ironman races in the world. The race is Middlebury, CT and was the site of my first triathlon (a sprint) last July 2010.  There was something like 80 professional triathletes in this race, which, as a fan of the sport, was cool to be a part of. 


I decided to do this race for the hilly 56 mile bike course. Somebody told me that this would be great training for Ironman Canada, also a hilly course, so I signed up. About 3 weeks ago somebody told me that the run course is hillier and harder than the bike course. Uh oh, I thought.  I figured (wrongly) that the run would be flat after a tough bike course. Man was I ever wrong!  The run course was insanely tough (more on that later).  My Garmin watch said that there was 3,800 feet of elevation gain for the bike and 800 feet of gain for the run (with some very, very steep hills).

The day I heard that the run course was so hilly, we happened to be leaving for California for my brother's wedding (which was awesome).   Great timing, as I was taking 10 days off from biking and swimming in favor of running (shipping my bike to CA would be way too tough).  I ran 8 of 9 days while in California and logged two consecutive 43 mile weeks in a row. I swam once in the local Casa Del mar outside pool. 


I decided not to taper for this race, as I tend to get sick when I taper. I took the day off before the race and felt great race morning.   Instead of carb loading the week before the race, I decided to try something new - "fat" loading. Throughout my training, I've actually eaten very little pasta (as opposed to my 3 marathons when I ate a ton of it). I've eaten a lot of protein, chicken, cheese, and pb&j (plus cheeseburgers once in a while). This has been working for me, so why change now?  I ate pasta with chicken in a white cream sauce the night before the race and that worked. For fat building, I increased my Udo's 3-6-9 oil from 1-2 tablespoons at day to 4 tablespoons the week before the race (each tablespoon has 120 calories, which is a lot, but I am able to handle due to my 10-13 hours of training exercise each week).  Udo's oil has a blend of omega 3-6-9 and I have noticed a significant improvement in my performance (and more importantly my health) since I started taking it. Better recovery, less inflammation.  I'm a big believer in it, so much so that I am considering carrying a small flask of it during my upcoming Ironman. 


Pre-race
The weather for the race was PERFECT!!  47 degrees when I got up at 430am (I had to stay in a Holiday Inn Express in Waterbury, CT the night before as it was mandatory to rack our bikes the night before the race).  I got about 6.5 hours of sleep, about what I get every night.  The weather for the entire race was awesome. The water temperature was 68-70 degrees and the air temp was in the 50/60s or low 70s for the entire race (with low humidity). 


I arrived in the transition area at 530am, carrying with me 2 cinnamon raisin bagels and a Cliff Chocolate-Cherry gel shot. I ate a half a bagel on the way to the race and had a few sips of Pepsi.


I set up everything around my bike. My swim, bike, and run gear. I prepared 3 hornet juice bottles for the race (hornet juice is a powder of amino acids and energy that I find really helps my energy levels during my race and recovery after). I put the powder in about 3 ounces of liquid (in this case Red Gatorade for the swim bottle, orange gatorade for the bike bottle, and coke (yes Coca Cola) for the run bottle).


As I was leaving the transition area, Michael Lovato, one of the top male professional triathletes in the world stopped me and asked to use my bike pump. He explained that "Mirinda needs it" (that's Mirinda Carfrae, the reigning world champion triathlete).  Sure, I'd love for Mirinda to use my pump, "can I meet her".  So Michael (not racing today) walked me over and introduced me, which was really cool. Mirinda shook my hand, I said "I'm a big fan and I enjoyed your podcast about this race". 




Swim (1.2 miles)
Prior to the race, I hung out with my friend DG, who is an elite triathlete (he ended up coming in 60th overall with a 4:53, an amazing time).  We watched the pro men and women go off and then his wave went.  Wearing a full-body wetsuit, I felt awesome the entire swim. I neglected my swim training over the last month, only swimming twice, and it showed in my slow swim split of 55 minutes (I did 50 minutes at Bassman and 48 minutes for my 2.4 mile halfway point split). As always, I let everybody in my wave go first and I settled into a very easy, comfortable stroke. I felt weaker in my arms and didn't have power in my stroke like I do when I swim 2-3 times a week, but many times throughout the swim I thought to myself "this is awesome, I love this". It was beautiful outside, sunny, clear, and the water was nice. I could see the large bouys ahead (except, on this triangle course, when I was swimming across the 2nd leg directly into the sun and couldn't see a thing with the sun directly in my eyes). I definitely need to get tinted goggles for Ironman Canada. This race had multiple wave starts, so every 3 minutes or so the wave behind me would pass by. Generally, people would bump into my legs and politely go around me.  Once, a guy went around me and inadvertently kicked water into my face and mouth, so I had to completely stop to cough it out of my lungs. Other than that, I didn't stop swimming the entire swim, never panicked or felt tired, and really enjoyed it!!!  No question that I am more comfortable in the water now that I have more experience. I came out of the water completely refreshed, not tired at all. For my next race, I've decided that I will push a little harder during the swim.
Swim split - 55 minutes.  Slow!


Bike (56 miles)
I felt good after the swim (I really struggled to get my wetsuit off, however, which cost me a little time). Got on my bike and was off!  This bike course is super hilly, pretty much nothing but hills (up and down). Very few flat straightaways. I really enjoyed the ride. I caught up to (and passed) a lot of people, which was fun, and I really enjoyed the beautiful countryside. At the top of the course, the view was totally awesome, hills, farms, cows, trees, and lakes. On some of the steep downhills, I was going nearly 40 miles per hour. Before 1 steep hill, there was a race worker standing before the descent, flapping his hands slowly up and down in concert, so as to say "take this hill slowly".  I yelled "woo hoo" down the entire hill, hands on my brakes the entire way down. The bike course, for the most part, ends up hill, and by the end of the course I felt very good. I stretched on the bike NY standing or leaning to the side of the bike when needed. When I got off the bike, I didn't feel any numbness or leg fatigue.


Bike split : 3 hours, 20 minutes.  16.8 mph, average cadence 79, average heart rate 144

Garmin File for the bike ride - click here


Run (13.1 miles)
I quickly drank my hornet juice, took off my helmet/sunglasses, put my running shoes on (New Balance 1063s), took my Garmin 310 off my bike handlebars, and I was off, walking out of transition to the start of the run. The race announcer called out over the loudspeakers "Toga, Toga, Toga" (written on my race Jersey).  I asked the announcer "who won the pro women's race"?  Not expecting my question, the race announcer thought I said "I'm going to win the women's race" and announced this to the crowd, clearly with a tone of "man, this dude is a wierdo". How embarrasing!!!!  Thanks dude, I thought. 20 seconds later he realized what I asked and he started to announce who won.


I felt GREAT when I started running, like I just started exercising. My run race plan was to run easy given how hilly the course is.  I started easy (singing a Megadeth song in my head as we were precluded from listening to music).  About 5 minutes into the run I looked down at my watch- heart rate in the low 150s, pace 8:20s. SWEET!!!  The low heart rate was why I felt so good. For the first 2.75 miles, I ran easy between 8:20 and 8:45.


The run course was also extremely hilly (800 feet of gain but there was a stretch that was basically straight up-hill).  Here is the elevation profile:

I'd heard that the run course was really tough, so I decided that I would take it easy and didn't think about how long it would take me.  During mile 11, I looked at my watch and realized that I had a shot at a sub 2 hour half marathon.  Awesome!  So I picked up the pace and ran the last 2 miles a little harder (which felt great except for the last hill).  I ran it hard, ran down the finishing chute, and put my arms up in the air, happy to be done, but also very proud.  I just finished a tough half ironman!!!

During the run, I woman ran by me pretty fast (she was easily doing a sub 7:30 pace).  I said something like "holy sh*t is this course hilly".  She responded with something like "yeah, no doubt.  Anybody that finishes this course is a bad-ass".  I totally agree.  My friend told me that there were a couple hundred DNFs (did not finish) in this race.  I'll be doing this race again next year to prepare for Ironman New York (also a hilly course, race date 8/11/12).

Run Split - 1 hour 57 minutes.

Garmin File from my run - click here


Race Pictures

YES!!!!!!!!!  Almost home!!!  At my size (6'2", 200 pounds), I'm like a giant in this sport (see the running pictures below too)

I'm cruising now!!!!

Proud

Pumped up after finishing!

I did it!!! Finished my second Half Ironman!! time: 6 hours 21 minutes (had 14 minutes of chip time)

I did it!!!  Finished my second Half Ironman!!  time: 6 hours 21 minutes (had 14 minutes of chip time)

50 yards to go - feeling proud!

Like I said above, I'm like a giant in this sport

Coming into transition - feeling great!

Coming into transition - feeling great!

On the run. I feel better than I look.....

Really enjoying the run!

On the run.  I feel better than I look here.

<><> <> <><> <>

Coming out of the water, feeling great!!!


Other Pictures (including swag)


We got a lot of goodies for this race....check them out!

Front side of the Finisher's medal.  Love it!!!



Backside of the finisher's medal.  Love it!!





My own personalized bike slot.  Totally cool!!!!



Swim course - beautiful lake!

Swim start in the distance

Women's professionals

Men's professionals

Run map

My bike (blue cannondale) in transition.  I may have been the only bike without aerobars!

Mirinda Carfrae pre-race

Mirinda Carfrae using my bike pump!!!!

Mirinda Carfrae in the yellow shoes



My bib



wristband worn during the race - personalized with my bib number on it



swag hat included in our bag



Swag tshirt

Swag Tshirt



Finisher's shirt - dry fit - sweet!!



Finisher's shirt - dry fit - sweet!!

cool swag included for free!

I bought this cool glass

Finish line the night before the race



Swim Start



My sticker pack

Transition Area



Outside the transition area






Professional Triathlete Bike Rack Transition Area