The Rematch: Rev3 Quassy Half Iron Triathlon

This was my second year racing Revolution 3’s Quassy half iron distance triathlon. Last year, I finished, but ran into some issues with GI distress, and the chronic return of ITBS which plagued me all throughout last season. So, it was time for a rematch with one of the most challenging courses I’ve done to date.

With thousands of feet of climbing between the bike and the run, this course is not for the weak of heart – or leg muscle.

I had two primary goals this year: Be brave and finish early enough to meet Mirinda Carfrae–my favorite pro triathlete. Last year, Carfrae was at the finish line greeting athletes, and  John was able to meet her after he finished. I was too slow, and she had moved on by the time I crossed the line.

So, how did I do?

Be Brave: The Swim Start

The desire to be brave began right from the swim start. I was in a wave with half of the the 35-39 year old males (last names l-z), and all of the 35-39 year old females. I found it curious that the RD split the male 35-39 year olds, and curiouser still that they were put in the same wave as females. In a mass start, I understand that we will all be mixed together. In wave starts, it’s kind of standard to separate out the males and the females.

But, no matter. I was going with the plan. Start near the front; line up with the buoy line. Be. Brave.

Quassy is a beach start, so we have to run into the water. The very front row was a line of men, all taller than me. No matter. I’m going with the plan. I got in the second row, right on the buoy line.

A hillside view of part of the swim course. (This shot was taken last year.)

“15 seconds to start,” the announcer called.

Breathe out. Stay calm, carry on, kick ass. My mantra for the day.

And we were off, running and dolphin diving into the water, and there I was getting overtaken by the mass of tall, male bodies that were behind me. (Note to self: I should have looked behind me before the start. There’s bravery, and then there’s stupidity.)

Within seconds, I found myself starting to panic, hoping (praying?) to grab a gasp of air. I tried to keep swimming, and put my face in the water, but no luck. I was starting to hyperventilate. There were just too many big boys pushing me around.

I watched as my wave left me, struggling to regain my composure. Eventually, even the breast strokers were starting to pass me.

“F–k!” I muttered. What to do? What to do?

Then, I saw the kayaker.

Ugh – really?

Was I going to go hold on to a kayak? I’ve spent 12k/week in the pool to have the swim go down like this? As I was having limited luck regaining rhythmic breath by backstroking or breast stroking, I flagged the kayaker down.

She threw me a flotation device, and I held on to it. I thought to myself, Vince is going to kill me for ruining the swim–again!

Then, I admonished myself–much to the surprise of the poor girl in the kayak–“Stop being such an f—ing p#ssy!”

Through her surprise, she said, “It’s okay, take as long as you need.”

I thought, No way. 

I looked at her, “I’m good. Thanks.” She was doubtful, but I had my breath back and I was ready to go.

I was off, swimming hard. I was back in the game, and I put the incident behind me. After all, there was the business of catching up to the rest of my wave. Before we even got to the first turn buoy, I was back in a group of red caps (my wave’s cap color). Then, I started passing red cap after red cap, and the caps of the previous waves started to come into view as well.

I wound up swimming 36:20, which was similar to what I swam at Bassman a month ago. I was the 7th female in my AG out of the water, and the 30th person in my wave. While I wanted to swim sub-35, I was happy by this time given my antics in the first 2 minutes of the swim. This bodes well for the next race (Rhode Island 70.3), when I assure you I will NOT be starting near the front but I will be swimming hard.

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Swim Tips

The swim course is an easy rectangle, keeping the buoys to the right shoulder. However, when you make the first turn, you will be swimming directly into the glare of the sun. It makes it incredibly difficult to sight–and I had tinted goggles. We had the same issue last year. Be prepared to search for the buoys on the back section of the rectangle.

This issue could be alleviated by directing the swim course in the opposite direction or perhaps including more buoys along the back section.

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Biking with Power

I was excited for the bike portion for a two main reasons.

First, this race would be the first time I would use specific power targets–one for the flats and one for the climbs. I’ve been figuring out a few key things about my cycling, and now it was time to put them to the test. The ultimate goal: use this information to dial in my effort for a flawlessly executed Ironman at Mont Tremblant.

Second, I like this bike course. The downhills are fun because they are short, and not terribly technical. I wanted to see how brave I could be, and let my bike fly.

Quassy’s bike course is a challenge, with non-stop elevation changes – up and down. Mapmyride.com lists the course as having five Cat5 climbs and one Cat3 climb. In addition to these rated climbs, the course rolls incessantly. I think there are maybe 4 miles of flats by the river (so much for my flat power target…).

None of the climbs are terribly long, some of them are steep but they are short. So, that is not what will do you in. It’s the nonstop-ness of the rolling. Up. Recover Down. Up, up. Recover down. This course is a solid interval session!

I was a little over 4 minutes faster on the bike this year compared to last. But, it was windier this year than last year, so it’s hard to make a direct comparison without knowing my power numbers from last year. I stuck with the power and HR caps Vince gave me, with the exception of blowing the climbing cap a few times. If I didn’t blow the cap, I would have tipped over. Again, short but steep in a few sections.

Was I brave on the downhills, you may ask?

Well, I had a max speed of 40 miles per hour. I think that should suffice as evidence that I am significantly braver than I used to be. I have NEVER hit 40 on my bike. At one point, it was shaking and I felt as if the wind was blowing right through my brain, but I didn’t hit my brakes. I just tucked in a little bit tighter to keep the wind from giving me an impromptu lobotomy.

I’m excited to see how much more bike strength (and bravery) I can build by Mont Tremblant. Very. Excited.

Equally important to the newfound speed, I felt stronger on the bike as compared to last year (as well as Bassman), and felt ready to run when I  racked my bike.

After finishing the bike last year, I remember thinking: “Ugh, I’m dead.”

This year, I got off the bike, heard them calling in Mirinda Carfrae as she was coming in for the win, and said, “I’m gonna go run like Rinny.” And I did–well, an old amateur athlete version of Rinny. In my mind, I run like Rinny. I think that’s enough.

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Bike Tips

My primary piece of advice for this course is have patience and be disciplined. Ride within your limits. The run is just as punishing as the bike, and there is no such thing as a great bike and a bad run in Triathlon. If you have a great bike, but your run sucks, you just had a bad race.

The Cat5 climbs are sprinkled throughout the course, and the Cat3 climb comes at the midway point, mile 23.5, and goes for about 4 miles. It is not an impossible climb by any means, but it will zap your strength if you punch it too hard. Keep in mind that before and after this climb, the course will continue to ascend – and descend – over and over and over.

This year, it was a bit windy on the course, and at some points, the crosswinds were fairly strong. So, if you are riding with deep dish race wheels or a disc, and you are a light person, you will want to be mindful of how the winds could affect you. If you aren’t confident with your handling, stick with the basic wheels.

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I’m going to run like Rinny. 

I headed out of transition, and from the first 3 steps, I knew I had a good run in my legs. My cadence was quick, my steps were light, and I had some women to catch.

My hat was on, and the hunt was afoot. I was going to run like Rinny.

While I had come out of the water 7th place in my division, by the end of the bike, I had dropped to 18th. I set to the task of methodically running down as many of those women as I could.

The run course is challenging, with plenty of climbing, and one almost-2 mile hill that starts at mile 3. I had somehow blocked that from my memory of the run course. Yet, hills are a strength for me. I can run them, and still have the energy to bomb the downhills. So, that’s what I did.

During the first few miles of the run, I passed plenty of people – yet none of them were women with the magic numbers between 35-39 on their calf.

I started to worry that I had let them get too far ahead of me on the bike. And then I saw one: 37 in big black numbers on her calf.

Oh, hello, my sweet. I’m coming for you! 

As I passed her, my steps were light, quick, and my breathing under control. My intention? To communicate clearly that there would be no sense in making a counter move, sweets. 

“Nice job,” I smiled as I passed.

“You too!” she replied.

There was plenty of great sportsmanship on the run course. Athletes cheering each other on, giving support to those who are passed and those who are passing.

Ten miles into the course, I had caught and passed 7 women in my age group (yes, I counted them as I went). I had no idea what place I was in, but I knew I was gaining on the next woman in my age group because there was an out and back section somewhere around mile 11-12 that gave me a glimpse of where she was.

I remembered her because we had chatted in transition. I knew I was gaining on her because she was further ahead of me when I saw her on an out and back section earlier in the run course.

But, would I have enough time to catch her?

The final mile of the course is uphill before you hit the last 400 yards, which are mostly flat. This section twists and turns, and it’s difficult to see who is ahead, and how close you might be–not to mention the finish line is in an amusement part, with roller coasters and rides that camouflage the finish line until you are right up on it.

As I crossed the finish line, with a 1:45:05 half marathon time, I simply ran out of real estate. Turns out, she was only 17 seconds ahead of me, despite the fact that her bike time was 20 minutes faster than mine.

Upon my review of the results, I realized that if I passed her, I would have been in the top 10 of my age group. AAAARRRRGGGHHH!

Vince has now decided that all of my rest intervals in my swim workouts will be 17 seconds, just to remind me to go harder, push more, be hungry.

He’s so hilarious.  Ha.  Ha.  Ha.

Despite the narrow miss of the top 10, there’s still plenty to be happy about – like a 25 minute course PR, and the confidence that I can push the bike hard and still have a steady, solid run. In the final analysis, I think I could have run even harder. Next time, I will.

And, I achieved the MOST important goal of all…


I finally met Rinny!

I told her the story of how I wanted to finish fast enough to meet her because I had missed her in previous years. And, then, just as John was about to snap the picture, he said, “Um, the camera’s dead!”

Heartbroken, I looked at her, and without missing a beat, she quipped, “Well, looks like he’s in big trouble tonight, huh?”

Just as I thought all my hopes were dashed, a fellow athlete offered to take the picture with her phone and email it to me. Day saved! John’s a$$ not beat.

Rematch with the Quassy course: Success!

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