Orrville Cross

Great course and race, actually more like an off road crit with nice dry conditions and major headwinds in spots. The start was fast up the road section and I didn't get a good one. Got bottled up and watched the leaders start getting a gap. I found a spot to pass in the long straight leading to the corn-field and drilled it and managed to latch back on to the back of the lead group but burnt a big match in the process. I needed to recover a bit but there wasn't any recovery spots. I held on to the lead group for 3 of the 7 laps then fell off the pace a bit and rode in protection mode of my 6th place position.

Not a bad race for me though, not the best of legs but not that bad either. I think this race was one of the fastest cx races I've ever did. The dry conditions with the course layout made it fast, no complaining though what-so-ever. Orrville did a nice job on the day, thank you all!

This weekend I'm opting out of the Ohio State CX Championship weekend in Dublin, instead racing a new venue in Oakdale Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh called Military Cross put on by Appalachian Bicycle Racing Association. There's some tough hombre's in this area, so it should be fun.

Good luck to all racing States this weekend.

Apple-fest

Once again a great weekend at Doug and Angela's, the whole weekend was great from Friday night packet pick up and walking around the Applefest to the evening at the cabin where I played host to numerous friends and family while my two friends slipped off to the comforts of their bedroom to turn in for the night all while being very sneaky.......Nice job U2..... ;-)

The next morning after a few cups of strong coffee we headed into Franklin for the Applefest 5k, which is one of the largest 5k's in the state of Pennsylvania and attracts some pretty fast runners. The usual crew showed up to run on a cold rainy morning, actually perfect running conditions though. Doug, Angela, Courtney, Tony, Lisa, Donny and myself are the usual crew, but there were a few new runners this year. Phil Friedman of World Triathlon fame, his friend and fellow attorney Adam (I forgot his last name) and my dear wife Lynn. Everyone did very well this year and we took home some nice hardware for our efforts. After the award ceremony was over it was back to the cabin for a day of hanging with family and friends and just relaxing with a clam bake and fresh Lake Erie perch and all the fixin's. The weather cleared up, we had a nice fire all day and into the night and it was the perfect day.

Sunday was the drive back home with talk of next year's Applefest already. It's always a great time at Doug and Angela's cabin in Utica P.A., a place I will always think of and remember with the best of memories for the remainder of my life.

North Coast Grand Prix of Cyclocross

Marshall Leininger and Stark Velo, you guys are amazing! You all did so much work to make the weekend a hit, Thank You all!

Everyone that raced this event know's the course so I won't go into detail, just that everyone liked it even with the big hill and everyone was saying that they hope it comes back next year in the series, I second the motion.

Saturday TLE fielded two teams for the team event which was scored like a cross country running race, meaning the lowest possible score per team was the winner. We finished 2nd in the event and everyone rode strong but most importantly we all got to recon the course at speed dialing in lines etc..

Day two were the individual events. I raced the Masters 45+ and lined up with my team-mates Nate Loman, Chris Riccardi and Joe Pollato. We had a fast and furious start but that's nothing new and after about a lap we were settling in. Nate was off the front, and it was Joe, Russ Verlinger (Scum City) and I following. Joe pulled hard to establish a decent gap from the rest of the chasing field now it was just a matter of time before he and I could roll away for 2nd. and 3rd. We managed to hit the big climb pretty hard around lap 3 that shed Russ so now it was just Joe and I working hard together to maintain the gap to the finish. We rode everything smooth and fast and rolled in for the Team Lake Effect podium sweep with Russ and Dave Jolin (Stark Velo) rounding out 4th and 5th. with Chris finishing in 6th. due to a mechanical.

Julie was 4th woman in the 1,2,3 field, Gwen rode super strong as well, Rudy won the SS, Steve and Johnny were 1st and 2nd. in the mens 1,2,3, Emilio was 4th in the 35+
Robert finished top 5 or 6 in the 1,2,3 after getting untangled from the tape near the pit and Nate Z. and Mike V. rode hard and strong as always.

This weekend we're in Franklin for one last hurrah at Doug's with the Applefest 5k on Saturday morning, so no cross racing this weekend, but the weekend after we're back at it.

Great racing everyone and see you all in a few weeks.

Blog neglect

Wow, no bloggin since Nationals in Burlington. Not really much going on though. We decided to do Rev3 Sandusky but the Saturday race was cancelled and it was held to just the 5k, which was pretty neat since it was mostly inside the amusement park and it was dark and it was raining, which made it even more neater, but that was it for that race. We just happened to be staying with Doug's Mom who lives in Marblehead and there was the Jet Express Olympic triathlon at East Harbor on Sunday. We couldn't sign up for it since we were supposed to be racing Rev on Saturday and there was no same day registrations so we just went out and rode and ran the course. We couldn't get in an early swim since the Jet Express ferry takes you out a mile between Kelly's Island and Put in Bay so we scrapped the swim for the day. The bike course is a 25 mile loop around Marblehead and then a beach - sand run, this race is actually practice for the Escape from Alcatraz race in San Francisco. That weekend finished out triathlon season for me. I finished the season with 11 tri's wining my age group in 9 of them except one that I was 4th and of course Nationals..... I also did some trail running races and a road running race also, so not a bad season.

Now starts cyclocross season and I have already did a race which I crashed out of only 20 minutes in, so actually today is the first race of the Stark Velo Grand Prix of Cyclocross weekend which I'm signed up to race. Today's race is a team event scored like a CC running race with teams comprised of 5 to 7 riders each, something different to add a different spin to cross racing. Tomorrow's event is the individual. I am mostly going to race the NEOCX series this season instead of travelling to Cinci and C-bus alot like we did last season, I travelled enough this Spring and Summer for triathlon and am a little tired of staying in motels....

We're planning on running a trail Marathon in the Spring so we plan on getting in quite a bit of trail running this fall and winter. Also on the calendar is a few long trail runs - races this winter to prepare for the Marathon, so if I stay healthy it should be a fun "off season".

See everyone at the cross races and thanks for reading.

USAT Age Group Nationals Re-cap

The 2012 USAT Age Group Nationals were held at Waterfront Park in Burlington Vermont and what a great venue. Great access to Lake Champlain, a technical and challenging bike course and a fast run made for a challenging and fast race.

Doug and Angela and Lynn and I made the trip along with Sarah, Kevin and Amy. Sarah did the Olympic race on Saturday while Doug, Kevin, Amy and I did the Sprint race on Sunday. Both events drew huge fields in all age groups and I think the total was over 3,000 competitors in both races.

Sarah had a great race and was out front in the swim which is her strength, she was soon on the bike and run course and finished comfortably in the middle of her large field and looked very strong at the finish. Nice racing on a hot day too!

Sunday was a bit cooler in the morning which was perfect. My swim was strong, again toward the top of my age group, and I exited the water feeling good. I entered into transition, went right to my rack spot, which by the way the transition area was pretty large with long transition rows, which made finding your spot just a bit hard if you didn't pick a landmark, but that'll come later..... I peeled my wetsuit off and was soon running to the bike mount area. Once on the bike the first section was technical, with some short steep climbs, turns and a long flat stretch before a 180 back and out onto the main course. After the long climb out of town and onto the main road it was a nice downhill to a freeway exit ramp that went up again for a long time this time, we climbed to another 180 and back down to a sweeping round turn and once again onto the main road to where it was out to another 180 and back into downtown, down the long hill and back into transition. I felt pretty decent on the bike, not my best, but not that bad either. I was anerobic in a few places on the climbs, but that's to be expected, it Nationals. Overall I rode the bike pretty consistent.

Now, this is where making sure you know where your rack spot in transition comes into play..... As I said earlier, transition was large with long rows and very small rack numbers, so you had to pick out a landmark as to where your rack spot was located, my landmark happened to be a light post on the outside of the transition area almost in the middle, and my rack row was row E. Well, I practiced the swim to bike transition a few times before the race, but never practiced the bike to run transition, also the bike entered from a different angle than the swim which gave it a different perspective. When I first entered into T-2, I ran to the middle where the light post was but I was in the wrong row, so I looked for an opening in the racks to pass under with bike in hand and didn't see my number because they weren't numerically oriented on the racks, so I stopped to get my bearings and ran to another row and thought this isn't right either, now it seemed like I was in a bit of a panic since racing at this level is so close and every second counts. When I finally found my rack spot and pulled my running shoes on and crossed over the timing mat it was 3:44, when my bike to run transitions are usually around 50 to 55 seconds, I knew that wasn't good and I was dead in the water at this point with no chance to finish near the top.

The run course was laid out beautifully with one long steep hill just out of transition, which was hard but I had been practicing running hills at an anerobic pace and felt fine on it. I passed quite a few on the hill, was anerobic at the top but kept my pace and settled into a nice rhythm.Once onto the road heading out of town it rolled until we came to Champlain High School and then descended into a camp ground and onto the Burlington Bike path which ran along Lake Champlain and back to Waterfront Park to the finish. I ran consistent and felt strong to the finish.

I wish that my T-2 would have been normal, but there's nothing I can do about that, it was a rookie mistake from someone that's been doing multisport for over a dozen years and it shouldn't have happened, I know it won't happen again. My swim, bike and run times were there to be competitive in the upper 1/4 of my large age group, but not good enough to make it to London for age group Worlds in 2013. There are some extremely fast and strong guys in my age group and I'm glad to see this and to be able to test myself against the Country's best and come out of it with more knowledge and a good feeling.

Overall, USAT did a first class job with putting this race on, it was a true National event and they picked a great host city to do it in, USAT is a class organization!

Congratulations to my brother Doug-E and Jeanne Debonnis for qualifying for London in 2013, they had exceptional race's and left it all out there on that course. Doug, I'm proud of you and always have been and Jeanne, after IM Louisville, get some rest then start that training for London, it'll be here before you know it!

Rev3 Sandusky in two weeks then it's a wash for the 2012 triathlon season and then on to cyclocross.

Thanks for reading.

Greater Cleveland Triathlon

It has been great weather for months, calm winds, no rain, warm to hot temperatures, nice summer weather so to speak, that is until race day for the GTC. Actually this is typical for this race, especially the winds which see to whip up the night before and the morning of the race. They were calling for nasty weather for a week out from this event and "they" were right. Mickey ended up shortening the swim's due to the high waves for safety reason's and everyone was good with that.

The races went off on time and the battle of the day was with the elements more so than each other. The humidity was off the charts at like 90% which made the runs hard since there isn't much shade on the run course. I never do well in conditions like these and this race was no exception. Even though I finished 1st in my age group and 6th overall I felt like I had a sub par race and I know it was due to the wind and the humidity, but it's still great to be out there racing and I know everyone felt the same.

Mickey did a great job once again with this race and I have much respect for him for all that he does.

Keep up the great job buddy.

Fairport

This race went better than last year even though it was still hot and humid. We had a great turnout with all the "posse" showing up and racing well. We took home some hardware, had a great breakfast afterwards thanks to Angela and Lynn and spent some quality time with quality friends.

I finished 1st age group and 9th overall bettering my time from last year by 1:45, now that the official results are in. The rest of the group was in the top 10 as well. This years' total was over 500 participants! I say it every year that this race get bigger and better each year and this year really proved it.

This was the second year in a row that Tony and I put on a transition clinic for this race and we had about 30 people attend this year. Brian Davidson and Brian Fowler and the crew of the Lake Metroparks Lakefront Park, Congratulations on another great event. Looking forward to next year already!

Next up is the Greater Cleveland Triathlon in two weeks.

Findley Lake Triathlon

This race was kind of a last minute decision since I haven't raced in three weeks and wanted to get some race pace training in. So, since I hadn't done this race in many years and I remember it having a trail run, I thought I'd give it a go. When I got there I was talking to a few folks and they said that the only thing that hasn't changed since I did it before was the swim. The run was technical and a little longer and they lengthened the bike to 16.5 miles instead of the traditional sprint distance of 12, I said excellent.

They had a mass start men's swim and there were alot of us so I had to get out front quick if I wanted a fast swim. I took a line closest to the buoys and pretty much swam without getting bashed around. I rounded the turn and had a fast swim back and exited the water in 4th position. Transition went well and I was out on the bike and 2nd on the road until three guys came flying by like they were being chased  by the State Highway Patrol. I felt pretty good on the bike though and stayed right on my threshold level the entire ride but wasn't even attempting to try to stay with or catch those guys at any time. T2 was fast and I was soon on the trail and I could see Steve Parris ahead of me, who just happens to be in my age group. We were going back and forth on the bike for about six miles and into transition prior to the run too. I caught Steve in a technical section of the trail just over the dam and managed to put about :30 on him and that's the way it stayed for him and I as far as our race went. A couple of young guns passed me later into the 3.5 mile run which I wasn't concerned about since those guys are great runners and also in they're 20's. Pete Finnerty who I have raced with before passed me like I was standing still on one of the most technical sections of the course, he yelled some words of encouragement and was out of sight within seconds, he ended up finishing 3rd. overall, just goes to show ya that you ride for show and run for dough....!

This was a great race on a great course and the trail run was 99% on the park's mountain bike trails. There were lots of roots, some short steep up's and down's, wooden bridges, wooden steps etc, it was a great run, not nearly as fast as running on the road but more fun as trail runs most always are.

There were some fast guys that showed up and some good competitive racing. I ended up winning my age group and finishing 7th overall. I accomplished what I wanted to do and that was to get a good training race in to keep the high end fitness up for some up coming races.

Shout out to everyone racing the Tour of the Valley this weekend, sounds like some intense racing going on, stay safe everyone.

Off road biathlon's

There's a couple of off road biathlons coming up, one in July and the other in August. The long course race is being held at Westbranch and the short course is at the Huffman/Reagan Park area. Anyone interested check out this site, thanks!

http://trailsntreads.wordpress.com/

Dirty Rotten Trail Race

I don't know why the Dirty Trails Series guys named this event the Dirty Rotten, because it was anything but rotten and participation showed with almost 200 runners participating. Most everyone in the running or xc skiing community has been to Chapin Forest in Kirtland where this race was held and know how beautiful this Lake Metropark is. The race started off in the field where the ski races start and we did the same counter clockwise loop with the exceptions of some new single track that the organisers threw in so the race wouldn't be totally on the gravel paths, it was an excellent addition I think. They billed this race as the fastest course in the series, but knowing the course from having ski'd and ran there for many years I knew otherwise. It was all uphill til we reached the steep downhill that leads to the lower loop section and once we finished with the lower loop it was all uphill once again from Rt. 306 to the long downhill ski hill on the front side of the course. This is where I lost contact with the group that I was running with the whole race. There were six of us together until the long downhill when they all surged ahead and were running the downhill like it was a flat. I picked up the pace but nothing like the group that I was with. They pulled away and I did my best to hang on knowing that we had to make a 180 degree turn at the bottom and then climb back up again. Once we hit the 180 I saw one of the guys that I was with and gave it a good effort on the hill to catch him. I noticed he was pretty gassed so I picked up the pace over the top of the hill and ran the last mile as my fastest to finish only a few seconds ahead of him.

I didn't feel my best in this race by no means, but I didn't feel that terrible either, if that makes any sense. My plan going into this one was just to put down a good effort and since it was a hilly race it would better prepare me for Vermont, since I hear it's a hillier run course there. I ended up finishing 4th Master and 16th overall, not my best but not too bad either. We took our bikes with us and the plan was to ride home, so we ended up with 8 miles of running and 25 on the bike, not a bad day.