It's been a busy few weeks!
Three weekends ago, some Front Runner friends and I went to New Jersey for the New Jersey Marathon and Long Branch Half Marathon. I just did the half. It was supposed to be an easy run for me. It's my third year doing this race (read last year's race report here), but I've never really raced it since it's always right after a marathon. This year, of course, it was two weeks after Boston, and I wasn't fully recovered yet. So it was just going to be fun.
So I made myself not think about time. In fact, Daniel and Jonathan almost convinced me to run without my watch, but I wasn't quite able to do that. Still, my primary goal when I was in the starting corral was just to finish and have fun. And when the starting horn sounded, that's exactly what I did, starting out at an easy pace. About two minutes into the race, I realized that I should have peed one last time beforehand, because I kind of had to go. As luck would have it, there was a porta-potty about 3/4 of a mile into it. I decided, in keeping with my goal of just doing a fun run, I would use the porta-potty and then I really wouldn't care about my time.
When I came out, I saw the 1:30 pace group was couple hundred yards ahead of me. And then, just like that, what started out as a fun run quickly turned into a run with the 1:30 pace group. It just pulled me in. I didn't want to do it, but I felt compelled to join them. Well, the rest is history. I ran with them for the next 10 miles or so, until I realized that they were at least a minute, maybe 90 seconds, behind pace. And then miles 11-13 I started to speed up.
I dropped the pace group. Once I left them, it actually started to feel like a race. The field was very thin (out of 6,000 runners, there were less than 100 in front of me). I started to pick people off, one by one and try to pass them. I also knew that I had to run some really fast final miles if I wanted to make up for the deficit I was in. But my legs were tired by this point, and I couldn't push as hard as I wanted. My final time: 1:30:04. Ughh! To miss by a mere 4 seconds! If only I didn't make that bathroom break. If only the pace group had been more on pace. Argh, so frustrating. But after a few moments of being annoyed, in the end, I was very happy. My second fastest half marathon time ever, and I wasn't even trying that hard to race it. I was pleased, and excited about the chance to really race my next half marathon, in Brooklyn, three weeks later.
That race wouldn't have been possible without the yummy carby dinner we made the night before. Farfalle with chicken, broccoi rabe, tomatoes and mushrooms. It was so easy and so yummy. The perfect meal before a big race.
* * *
The following weekend, seven Front Runner friends and I went up to Massachusetts to run the 2nd annual Cape Relay, a 184-mile run from outside Boston to the tip of Cape Cod. It was a great experience, so much fun! I ended up running about 27 miles with some of my best friends, and I'll never forget what a great time we had. All this, despite the fact that the race itself was extremely unorganized and poorly managed, and I definitely will not be doing it again.
The weekend started out with a nice carby chicken parm and pasta dinner at the Post Road Diner in Norwalk, CT, where we met up with the other FRNY relay team.
And after a night at the Mansfield, Mass. Red Roof Inn, the FRNY Ultragays had breakfast at the charming Cafe on the Common, where we enjoyed what would be our last proper meal for the next 24 hours.
At the start, we met some of the other teams who were seeded with us. There was another gay Ultra team, the "Fanny Packs," from Boston. And there were two college Ultra teams, the Dartmouth Endurance Racing Team, and "We Is Fast" from Northeastern University--they looked like they were going to be our toughest competition.
Jonathan was the first runner on our team. The first leg was run on trails that sounded pretty technical, which is Jonathan's expertise. When we met him at the transition area six miles later, he was several minutes ahead of every other team. After that point, we pretty much never saw any of the other teams who started with us again.
Jonathan was followed by Josh, Mike, Drew, Me and Kelsey. Peter and John were our drivers. My first leg was 4.68 miles, mostly flat. It was not too memorable. I ended up passing two or three people. But I was running a little faster than I planned on running, mostly because I didn't want to be the one on my team that let one of the other teams pass us. So every few hundred yards, I looked back to see if anyone was behind me. But sure 'nuff, there was no one.
My second leg was 6.35 miles, again mostly flat. It wasn't quite dark yet, but I wore my reflective vest. This time I passed at least a dozen or so runners. Each time I passed someone, I would say to them, "Good job, keep it up." But it would actually give me a little energy boost. I finished in 42:23, or 6:40 pace.
So with two sets of legs done (or one-third of the race), the FRNY Ultragays were well in first place. None of the teams we started with were anywhere near us. And that's when the race started to fall apart. We noticed on our third set of legs that we weren't passing any runners anymore. That seemed a little odd. Could it be that we were in first place? Apparently we were! We had somehow passed every single other team in the first third of the relay, and were already leading all of the other racers! That seemed really cool--for a moment, until we realized that the race organizers were just not prepared for us.
We started arriving at transition areas before they were set up. At one transition, the porta-potties were still all tied shut. The volunteers didn't know what to do with us. And then we learned, the awful, awful news. Transition 18 was not ready to open. It would not be opening until 11:45pm. But we were on pace to get there an hour earlier. So what would that mean...? Apparently our team would be held, for an hour, until the race organizers got their sh-t together. Meanwhile, all of the other teams would catch up to us, and there would be a mass start of all of the teams at 11:45. And would they deduct the HOUR we would have to wait? According to the race official, "This isn't a Boston Qualifier; we're not serious about times here."
Are you F-cking kidding me?! I was ripsh-t. Why the f-ck would you organize a RACE if you're not going to give a sh-t about people's times?!?! Don't tell people it's a race, and charge a thousand dollars a team if you're going to f-cking SCREW OVER the fastest teams. WTF are they thinking?!?! I was so pissed off and felt completely deflated and used. Basically, the 11 miles that I had run at 6:35-6:40 pace were completely wasted. I could have run 10 minute miles and been in the exact same situation. What a f-cking joke.
So the experience of running my third leg was pretty much ruined. It would have been a wonderful run--2.73 miles across the Sagamore Bridge onto Cape Cod. Finally reaching the Cape after about 100 miles of running. It would be quite a dramatic moment. But I wasn't racing. There was no point to running fast, since we would just be stopped after reaching Transition 18. So Peter joined me, and we jogged the leg together--in 21:31, or 7:52 pace. By this time, the race had just about lost its excitement for me.
As if to make up for the fact that we'd have to wait at Transition 18 for an hour, the race officials kept promoting the "pasta dinner" there. We'd get delicious hot food, blah blah blah. And here's the difference between the organizers of the Cape Relay and the organizers of a quality race like Reach the Beach. Whereas RTB invited members of the community to sell food and raise money for community groups (the Girl Scouts, little league teams, schools... remember my picture of Transition 13 here?) the Cape Relay charges you for sh-tty food so they can continue to profit off of runners' exhaustion and lack of choice. The whole thing just made me feel like some corporate race organizer was getting rich by cheating the runners out of a quality (or even just passable) race experience. I've never before participated in a race where I felt completely duped, until now.
11:45 came, and the race officials said they still weren't ready for us. Then midnight came, and they said 15 more minutes. Finally, at 12:15, the race officials said that the first 5 teams that had come in could start, and then they would let the other teams go, 5 at a time, in 5 minute intervals. Of course, another team that had just come into the transition at 12:14 also left with us at 12:15, so by this point it was pretty much a sh-tshow. Whatever.
We were told they would maybe hold us at Transition 24 too. So frankly, I didn't know how fast to run. If I ran it fast, the effort could be wasted again, if we were all going to just have another mass start later. I asked Peter to run with me again, since it was dark and it was my longest run--6.72 miles at around 3:00 in the morning. This was the leg where I discovered another huge difference between the Cape Relay and Reach the Beach. When you are running at RTB, there are signs--reflective signs--that tell you, the runner, where to go, and that tell DRIVERS to be careful of runners on the road. At the Cape Relay, there was completely inadequate signage for runners, and the few that they did have were NON-REFLECTIVE, save for a little two-inch piece of tape that was stuck on them. Even worse, there was NOTHING to tell oncoming traffic that there was a race going on. Trust me, you don't want to be the runner leading a race at 3:00 in the morning when oncoming traffic has no idea anyone is there. Just another example of how the race organizers had no regard for safety, let alone the runners' enjoyment of the race. Miraculously, Peter and I ended up not getting hit by a car and finishing the 6.72 mile leg in 46:09, or 6:52 pace.
Thank goodness, though, that my last two legs were both under 4 miles. My very last leg had about a quarter mile start in the sand dunes, which was not fun. But I enjoyed the scenery, and tried to take in the sights.
But in the end, I did have fun. Some of the best fun I've ever had while running. Despite a poorly organized race, the eight of us had an amazing time together. I got to spend the weekend with some of my best friends in the world, and we were all doing what we loved to do. That's the real reason why I run these relays, not for the competition or the medal or even the bragging rights, but to have fun with a wonderful group of people. And the Cape Relay organizers, no matter how bad a job they did, could not take that away from me.
* * *
Finally, this past weekend, I kicked off Triathlon Season with a sprint triathlon and an Olympic tri relay.
On Saturday, Timmy and I went to Toms River, NJ for the Jersey Shore Kickoff Tri. You may recall that we both did it last year. Since this was just a little Sprint Tri, I didn't really give it much thought before the race. However, Friday evening, as we were driving down to Jersey, I realized for the first time that I had never actually ridden my brand new tri bike outdoors before. The bike that I got in December, I've only used in Computrainer sessions. So I had no idea how to use the aerobars. And I had no idea whether the bike would fall apart if it hit a bump. Uh oh... I called Rachel, hoping she would reassure me by telling me that aerobars were easy to use and I had nothing to worry about. But she made me feel like I was nuts to even consider riding the bike for the first time in a race. I didn't really have any choice, though; we were on our way to Jersey and I had no other bike to use...
So at 6:50am Saturday morning, we started the race. The swim wasn't particularly eventful. It was just 400 meters, and seemed to be over almost as soon as it started. One thing I remember was that it was a bit of a zoo at the start. I guess because the swim was so short, people were fighting more than normal to get a good start. So pretty much the first half of the swim felt like people were kicking and clawing all over me.
The bike is where I got nervous. And once again, I forget to set my bike computer so during the whole race, I was fidgeting with it. The aerobars, however, didn't pose a problem for me. I pretty quickly got the hang of them, and I actually felt quite comfortable in the aero position. And switching from the aerobars to the outer handlebars to brake and turn, while a little scary at first, turned out not to be that big of a deal.
There was, however, one problem. When I got my bike in the mail in December, it came in a few pieces, and I had to screw everything together and tighten the bolts. Well, apparently I didn't tighten the bolt to the handlebar setup enough, because every time I went over a bump, the whole front assembly would shift downward, and I had to pull it back up. Not by a huge amount, but just enough to make it annoying. I'm glad it wasn't any worse, because otherwise the aerobars could have come completely unattached. Oyyy, that would have been bad. Note to self: tighten all screws on my bike.
Finally, the run came. Since the bike was so short, my legs felt strong. I must have passed 20-30 people on my run, and it was a great feeling. The only issue was that for some reason I thought the run was a 5k (that's what it was last year, and that's what it usually is for a sprint tri), but it was 3.55 miles. So I was not really prepared for that last little bit. (I am, however, a little skeptical that it was really a full 3.55 miles; it didn't feel like I was running a 6:25 pace. Maybe more like 6:45 or so...).
In the end, I finished in 1:12:46, or 11th out of 18 in my age group. OK, I guess, for my first tri of the season. But I'd like to finally get to be in the top half of my age group at some point. I guess that means I have to work on my biking. And swimming. Ugh...
Place.......48/131 [11/18 AG]
Name........David Lin
Bib.........78
Sex.........M
Age.........35
Swim Rank...58 [13/18 AG]
Swim Time...12:49.1
Swim Rate...1.87
T1 Time.....2:21.4
Bike Rank...72 [14/18 AG]
Bike Time...33:57.0
Bike Rate...17.7
T2 Time.....0:53.7
Run Rank....16 [5/18 AG]
Run Time....22:45.2
Run Rate....6:25
Total Time..1:12:46.4
Dinner Saturday night was dumplings with homemade dough for the wrappers, sauteed broccoli rabe, and scallion pancakes made with the leftover dumpling dough. It took a bit of effort to make the dough from scratch, but it was worth it. And we got plenty of carbs for the next day...
Sunday morning, we did it all over again. This time, Daniel, Paul and I did the tri as a relay, and Timmy was our cheerleader. I did the 1.5k swim, Daniel biked 40k, and Paul ran 10k.
I think my swim went really well. I was pretty much in a zone the whole time and able to just focus on my stroke. My one problem was that I forgot to look at the course beforehand and count the buoys and figure out the difference between the yellow and orange buoys that I saw. So, when I was in the water, I had no idea how far I had gone until I was almost at the finish. I'm sure I'll remember the next time I do an open water swim to look at the course beforehand....
The official time for my swim was 27:32. I didn't wear a watch, but based on the race pictures, I suspect that time was 5 minutes off. I think they gave me the wrong color swim cap so I started 5 minutes earlier. So, with a time of 32:32, I would have placed 134th out of 238 swimmers, somewhere in the middle. Daniel finished the bike in 1:19:46, and Paul ran in 45:12, so we came in 2nd place in the relay division (even with 5 minutes added on). Pretty good for team FRNY!
I enjoyed the race, but I do have one big complaint. The race directors made a point of telling us in email communications that there were going to be "ample porta-potties." Well, there were FOUR of them. Four porta-potties for about 300 athletes. I ended up waiting in line for about 40 minutes, and that's why I didn't have a chance to look at the swim course beforehand. Hopefully next year they'll plan it better, because it was a good race otherwise.
* * *
My whirlwind month of racing craziness is not yet over. I was planning on running the Brooklyn Half this coming weekend, and finally getting a sub-1:30 time for an NYRR half marathon. But Monday, I got word that a runner on one of the Spring Reach the Beach teams is injured and can't run. So I was asked to fill in. I feel so honored to have been asked, especially since the rest of the team is, like, much much MUCH faster than me. I'm pretty nervous, since I really don't want to let them down. But I'm also excited. I've been running really well recently, and this is my chance to help out my friends who need a last minute replacement. Also, I didn't really get to run as hard as I wanted to at the Cape Relay, so here's my chance to push myself a little harder in a relay race that's a bit more amenable to faster runners. The team is me, Kelsey, John, Josh, Gabe, and John's friend Tyler. Rich will be our driver. This is gonna be fun!!!
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