Mooseman 2011- Genine's Race Report

Where to begin… I’ve been telling Matt I need to post something for months now. I have 3 run races and a sprint tri that I haven’t reported on as well as some other things worth noting, but for some reason I haven’t made it a priority. For now I’ll fill you in on my Mooseman weekend. Maybe that will inspire me to write what else is on my mind and share my other race experiences. We will see. Not that it is anything particularly exciting, but I would like to keep an account for my own recollection.

Mooseman for us this year was, well… dare I say…relaxed. Unlike the previous 3 years, it was only 1 other friend racing beside Matt and I. There was very little in terms of preparation, no big meals to host and only 1 night of overnight guests. While I missed the fun and excitement of having a big group up at the farm, it made for a lot less to think about. So going into the race on Saturday, I was quite at ease.

Wednesday Matt & I arrived in NH. It was sunny and in the low 80’s. We unloaded everything at the house, and went straight down to the lake for an evening swim. Aahhh….. how I love Newfound! So beautiful and perfect. When we drove in the park entrance, Ironman trucks and crew nearly filled the parking lots, but once we were on the beach we were among only a handful of people there. So peaceful. There was 1 other swimmer doing laps. Matt and I put on our wetsuits and very easily got in the water. We swam for about 30minutes. The water was quite comfortable. Cold, yes, but not crazy. After we got out of the water, we parked at the trailhead lot and rode our bikes out from there for a quick ride. As I went to put my front tire on my bike, I noticed my aerobar pads were missing. I asked Matt if he had taken them off before putting the bike on top of the car to travel. Nope. My aerobar pads were somewhere along a highway between NJ and NH! Ah well. We did our practice ride and decided we would McGiver something for the race. After posting on Tri-Fuel, we went with the suggestion of using computer mouse pads.

Thursday was a day for cooking, race prep and a 30min practice run followed by some good stretching and yoga to relieve my aching lower back and pinch in the left side of my neck. I was a bit of a wreck after the car ride up. After checking with the local bike shop in Plymouth for aero pads (which they didn’t have), we set out to find mouse pads, rubber cement and Velcro tabs. We found all of the required items, made a stop at the grocery store and then headed back to the house. First I had some cooking to do. Just because we didn’t have a big crowd, you didn’t think I wouldn’t be cooking did you?? I made a spinach pie, chicken parm with baked ziti and black bean/sweet potato skillet over whole wheat couscous and black bean & corn salsa. Just some of our favorites. Oh…. and brownies and blueberry scones. In between cook times, I began making my aero pads. I used Matt’s pads as a template- tracing them on to the mouse pads. I cut out 2 layers of mouse pads and rubber cemented them together- letting them dry sandwiched between 2 heavy books. Once they were dry, I attached them to my aero bars using the heavy duty Velcro pads. Worked like a dream!

My 30minute run felt pretty good. Matt & I ran the beginning part of the course from the beach to the ledges, then looped to the bridge by Fowler River and back. I was hoping to feel like this on Saturday.

Friday brought final race prep, packet pickup, easy 30min bike/15min run brick, and Eric & Ryan (Matt’s brother & nephew) arrived in time for dinner. I felt very relaxed all day as thing came together simply. Matt & I went down to the beach around 3:00pm to get our race packets and do our last pre-race workout. We biked away from the commotion at the park toward Alexandria & then found a little residential loop by the lake for the run. All was good. Set, packed and ready to race. We had a small dinner & chatted with Eric, then headed up to bed around 10:00pm. Alarm set for 4:00am.

Race Day: Alarm goes off at 4:00am. Out of bed by 4:10. Breakfast of 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with PB&J, Kashi biscuits with almond milk, apple and tea went down easy. We were out the door by 5:00am and parked about a 1/2mile from the park at 5:15am. (Love being so close to the race site!) We got packs and bikes and started walking. The walk was a welcome warm-up as it was only 37 degrees!!! Yep, it was a freezer! I was actually looking forward to putting on my wetsuit and getting in the water. Getting OUT of the water was a different story. Transition went together quickly.

Here I am in my spacious transition spot thanks to the stump at the end of my rack! :-)

Matt and I had time to stand in the sun on the beach an enjoy a view of the lake while I ate a bar and a banana and stretched.

Matt and I pre-race. The only photo of us all day.

Then it was time to take off the warm clothes and get ready to RACE! Wetsuit on and walking down the beach to the swim start, the sand was so cold & wet that is seemed to pull all of the heat out of my feet. Matt pointed out that is was actually warmer to walk in the water, so we did.

Beautiful, calm Newfound Lake on race morning.

Once we got close to the start, Matt did his warm-up (literally) swim. He swam out and quickly came back with an ice cream head-ache face freeze. He said it hurt, but after a few more minutes, it subsided. Matt’s wave started 12 minutes ahead of mine, so once he left to start his race, I began my warm up. The water felt fine, but the face freeze was brutal! I’m glad to get that shock out of my system before the race began. I swam short laps for about 8 minutes and then stood up to walk out of the water & get with my wave start. No sooner did I get out of the water, the shakes started. I was that cold. So back in the water I went as I waited for my wave start, got out to walk over the timing mat and got right back in the water. Perfect plan!

Swim: I always have butterflies right before the gun goes off. The swim, especially the start, makes me anxious even when I otherwise feel relaxed. Newfound, “our lake”, always eases this a bit. I lined up in the middle of the pack, knowing I was faster than many, but didn’t want to get in the way of those faster than me. The gun goes off and I quickly work to claim my space. I pass several people, work my way to the inside and find a pocket and a pair of feet for the next 200-300m. That person veers to the right, but I just keep swimming on the inside, passing close to each buoy and avoiding most contact. The swim felt good and I felt confident. The first half of the swim went by quickly, but by the end I was ready to be out of the water.

T1: Even though hands and feet were a bit numb from the cold, my wetsuit came off easily, bike gear on easily and I layered on a long-sleeve tech shirt over my tri top to bike in to help with the chill factor. Very glad I did.

Bike: Not sure what to think to think of this. My legs were soooo cold & tight- try as I might to spin and warm up. They were bricks most of the ride as was my lower back. So bad at times that I felt my legs had no power. But I chugged along doing the best I could, managing to hold my position among the riders around me and eventually passing a few.

T2: Matt and I have commented to each other how much we miss having the rows in transition posted with a letter at the end of each row. It makes your spot so easy to find. Well, today as I ran down the wrong row, I yelled, “where are the darn letters!!” and ducked under an empty rack with my bike lifted on it’s side to get to my correct row. Grrrr… Bike racked, run shoes on my still numb feet, grab hat and Fuel Belt Sprint palm holder and out on to the run course like a herd of turtles!

Run: I started out this run feeling quietly confident. I was hopeful. I had run a solid 5k and 10k race in the past 6 weeks- meeting my goal times in both races. Today, I just wanted to finish in under 1 hour. That’s all. Not too much to ask, right? Apparently it was. My quads, hamstrings, calves & lower back were having no part of running hills – not to mention my numb feet. Pick a reason excuse in the book. I did walk part of the first big hill (not sure I would have run faster anyway) and the short hill back onto the road after the turn around point. There were some good points though. Pretty sure I negative split my run, and my stomach cooperated allowing me to push at the end. And I was happy to see Matt and get a high-five on my way out around mile 2 when he was on his way back. :-)

Post race thoughts:

1. I LOVE my new Cervelo P2-SL! Fun- Fun- Fun!!

2.Nutrition worked well today. Both pre-race and the Nuun & Gu Chomps on the bike & run. I didn’t use any gels and my stomach seemed to be quite a bit happier.

3.My heart rate training appears to be paying off. While my results (all 3 splits) from a time standpoint are within a minute of 2009 :sigh::- my average heart rate for the race this year was 149. I don’t have a record of what it was prior, but I know for certain it was higher than that.

4.Depsite some of the changes that have happened to this race over the past 2 years with the involvement of Ironman, it remains, in my heart, our hometown race. Newfound Lake and the surrounding area is hallowed ground. It tugs at my heartstrings – reminding me of Matt’s mom, Judy, and her beautiful spirit. It will always be my favorite race course!

5. Racing with Matt is the BEST! We make a good team. I am so thankful for his his support and that we share a love for this crazy sport.

6. Sunday we spent the day as spectators and photographers for our friend, Ed, as he raced the half-iron. It was a beautiful day and he had a GREAT race. Plus I had fun doing some pro-triathlete stalking watching. Good times all around!

7. LOTS of work to do to feel prepared for Timberman. (My FIRST 70.3!!) But I am focused & ready to take it on. It’s going to be a transformational 10 weeks. Aside from dropping a few extra lbs (story of my life), I know for sure that I need to focus mostly on my run. Especially my run off the bike, hills and speed work (ok - Pretty much everything!). Not to mention the farthest I have run to date is 9 miles. Eh…what’s another 4.1 after that…right? Bring – it – ON!

FUNDRAISER FYI: For those of you that may be wondering, Matt and I have decided to run our annual Leukemia Fundraiser (thru Dana Farber Cancer Institute/The Jimmy Fund) in conjunction with our Timberman 70.3 this year. Historically we have run this fundraiser with Mooseman. This year we figured that it would be a good incentive for me (and Matt) as I train toward my first Half Ironman. More details to follow.

And I will leave you with my Mooseman 2011 finish.