Winding Trails Summer Triathlon Series

This past Tuesday evening, I finally made it to the Winding Trails Summer Tri Series. This weekly off-road adventure is one of my favorite events though this is only the second time I’ve done it. I did one race in 2009, but I have raced (cyclocross, mountain biking, adventure racing, etc.) at Winding Trails many times. I love the venue and I love weeknight racing on gorgeous summer evenings.

It was a little warm and humid this past Tuesday, but the conditions were perfect for racing. Fortunately, I was able to get to the venue in Farmington, Connecticut without battling too much traffic. I would do more of these, but getting from East Hartford to the other side of the river during rush hour traffic is an absolute nightmare.

An amazing 194 athletes finished the regular course, which is a 1/4 mile swim/8 kilometer MTB/5 kilometer trail run. I’m blown away by that number. Nearly 200 triathletes on a Tuesday night!? The results are proof. There was a mini race too. The popularity of triathlons that are accessible to regular folks is amazing. I’m sure that many of these people will step up to a distance longer than the spring, which is very cool.

My race was pretty good. I’m finally shaking this mid-summer cold and the funk that came with it, but I’m still nicked up. I’ve got a long list of minor injuries. My right big toenail is ready to come off, I smashed my right middle finger in a door, and I have fresh wounds on my right and left knees (scrapes) and left hand (blood blister) from this race.

My swim was unremarkable. It was a tight course and was fairly rough in the first wave, especially for a “scrimmage.” I swam a straighter line than recent open water swims, but I was still slow. I opted not to use a wetsuit since it was short and I need to practice without it. My swim to bike transition was ugly. I opted to put on my jersey (again for practice) and I couldn’t get it pulled over my head. It was stuck and I was wandering around blind. I nearly had to call someone for help, but I got it on without tripping. I wish I had video of this episode. Flustered, I mounted my bike outside of transition cross style, turned left and immediately dumped it. I smacked my left arm, left knee, and jammed my left hand on a pile of rocks. I ended up with a nasty blood blister on my palm, right in the crease. Not good.

My heart rate was probably around 200 when I remounted and took chase. It was bad enough that I was so slow on the swim. Losing time between transition and the crash was downright hilarious. Eventually I settled into a rhythm and started making my way through the field. I think I passed all but ten or so athletes on the bike leg. The course was fast, dry, and sandy with some roots. My second transition was much better and I set out in pursuit of the remaining competitors. I really thought I could win this race, but I didn’t know how much of a gap the remaining guys had, and I didn’t ask. I just chased.

2/3rd’s of the way through the run, I had one of those falls that comes out of nowhere. One second you are running upright and the next second, you are not. I must have caught my left foot on a root because I went down so hard I didn’t know what happened. I drove my right knee into the ground and rolled. I popped right up, but a bit dazed. I collected myself and started running again, though a bit out of synch. By the end of the run, I had caught all but two guys and finished third.

Given the circumstances and my slow swim (33rd place), I was happy. It was a nice way to end a long day.  First would have been a real morale boost going into my heavy Ironman training phase, but I did this race for fun, and fun it was. I had the second fastest run, but it needed to a be a bit faster if I was going to catch Toby Kulas and Chris Winter.

Maybe next year…

Race Results

2010 Ironman Brasil

Ironman Brasil turned out to be even harder than expected, but it was an awesome race and a phenomenal experience. My preparation was focused and everything clicked, which led to a great result. I finished the 140.6 mile race in 9:58:53, and I earned a coveted Ironman World Championship (Kona, Hawaii) qualifying slot by winning the Ironman XC division. Each of my splits were dramatically quicker than my first Ironman race.

Swim = 2.4 miles = 1:04:08

Transition 1 = 7:50

Bike = 112 miles = 5:14:21

Transition 2 = 3:03

Run = 26.2 miles = 3:29:31

Total = 9:58:53

I’m relatively new to triathlon, having only picked up competitive swimming in early 2009. I’ve done a lot of endurance sports in the past 20 years, particularly the cycling and running, but putting them together with swimming is a relatively new passion. When I started triathlon last year, I knew that I wanted to try the Ironman distance, so I did Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island in July and then Ironman Lake Placid two weeks later. It was a crash course in Ironman racing and I did well for a first timer, yet, I had higher expectations.

This time, my pre-race planning was spot on. My gear worked. My nutrition could have been a little better, but it was still good. Overall, the course was a bit faster than Ironman Lake Placid. Lake Placid is a bit more hilly than Florianopolis, so the bike and run courses were a bit quicker this time, but by no means were the Brasil courses flat.

Like Rhode Island, the Brasil swim was in the ocean and it was choppy. RI was downright rough, with a delayed start and the option to skip it, and not be counted in the results. Brasil was tamer than that, but still a unique challenge compared to the placid Mirror Lake. There was a strong current that worked against you for most of the swim, and considering that I am slow and technically poor, I spent way to much time swimming back and forth rather than straight to the buoys. Another difference between the Brasil and Lake Placid swim’s is that in Lake Placid, you start in the water with 2600 competitors. Brasil had a running start and was more intimate, with 1600 entrants, but that is still a crowd.

The weather conditions couldn’t have been better. The temperature started in the mid-60’s (Fahrenheit) and never got higher than the low 70’s. It was overcast for the swim and bike with strong wind at times. Rain showers started as soon as I went out on to the run course and it eventually turned into downpours, which actually had a cooling effect. My feet were uncomfortably wet during the run, but it turned out OK. The weather at Lake Placid was decent too, with rain at the start and then warm sun later in the day. So, both of my long course experiences have been weather friendly.

Swim

The 7:00 A.M. start was on the beach in the Jurere Internacional section of Florianopolis on the north coast of the island. All of the athletes were packed tightly, vying for the best line to the first buoy. From my perspective, one of the only major race organization glitches was that it was a chaotic scene on the beach. You couldn’t hear instructions over the PA system with the wind blowing, a helicopter hovering overhead, and people packed together like cattle in a feedlot. That is not a good image for a vegan like me. I’m OK in crowds, but this was too close for comfort. When the horn sounded several minutes late, everyone charged into the water like mad fish. I got to the outside hoping to get some open water. I feel that I got stronger as the swim went on. I settled in and only had excessive physical contact in the turns, which there were four. I caught a hard elbow to the nose once and got kicked in the head several times, but I was never forced to adjust my goggles. The course was two different loops with a 70 meter run on the beach in between. The run was intense, with a narrow corridor fenced off. The spectators on both sides went nuts as we ran through the human tunnel.

I came out of the water after the second loop and headed for T1. While on the boardwalk, I bumped into Mark Moses, my friend and fellow Ironman XC competitor. We gleefully passed a bunch of folks who were slow coming out of the water. We muscled our way into the changing tents. That was the last I saw of Mark. Other than Mark, I only saw one other XC athlete, Jack Daly, during the race. I got past a few of the other guys in transition (Justin and Jason Abernathy), and the others (Terry Adams and Jason Reid) were behind me.

T2

Just like Lake Placid, I was terribly slow in transition, but I made sure I had socks, lubricant, and food. I compared my times with some of the pros, and it is embarrassing. I could have picked up several spots with more efficient changeovers. In lean manufacturing speak, we call it “set up time reduction,” and it takes practice.

Bike

I mounted my bike, got my feet in my shoes and began the process of passing 400 people. Being a slow swimmer has its disadvantages. Riding through all of that traffic isn’t fun or safe. I started strong and charged over the cobblestones in the first two kilometers. I was probably one of the only triathletes with Belgium kermesse and New England cyclocross experience. I love riding on stones and am not afraid of them. They actually get me fired up for the spring classics. Add in a little rain, and I get even more excited.

The 180km bike course had two 90km loops, and was a bit complicated. It was really an out and back, though mostly on opposite sides of a divided highway, so you rode the mirror image of the course profile on the return leg. Each feature was ridden four times (two in each direction). Also, it involved several smaller internal loops through a series of large tunnels on the south side of downtown Florianopolis. We went through the tunnels four times on each lap for a total of eight times. There was also an out and back section near the 80km mark. The course had three tough hills on each lap that required the little ring and some standing. Safe descending in traffic was done on the cowhorns, rather than in the aero bars. Overall, the course was pretty technical with a fair amount of cornering.

I made up ground when going both up and down. Other than that, it was hammering in a tuck the rest of the time. The most difficult section of the course for me was the northbound tunnel loops, where there was a strong headwind/sidewind blowing off of the water between mainland Brasil and the island. I’m a small guy and I get blown around in the wind more than others. I had a bad patch around 125km, when I got passed by some folks in the windy section. I lost some ground there, but concentrated on my fueling, in hopes of a recovery. That recovery materialized and I got some strength back. I was strong on the hills and in the last 10km, I really hammered and made up even more ground. Only a handful of people passed me during the bike leg. Thankfully, the course marshals cracked down on drafting. There were many more motorcycles out on course than you see in a typical triathlon, and they gave out a lot of penalties, which I support. Coming into Jurere Internacional on the cobblestones was an awesome way to complete an Ironman bike leg. Stones add an element of romanticism to a race course. The crowds were thick on both sides of the road and I was encouraged by the loud cheers from my family and friends.

T2

I had an OK T2, but was still slow. There was a lot less traffic in the tent compared with T1. It helps to be farther up in the field. I didn’t waste any more time, hit the port-a-let, and then headed out onto the run course.

Run

The run course was composed of a 21km loop and two 10.5km loops. The 21km loop seemed like it would never end. It had three steep hills that many people walked. Having run the 7 Sisters Trail Race earlier in May, I wasn’t intimidated by a couple of short hills.  I chose to charge up them and race down them. I had a great run leg. I never felt like I was going to bonk, but I did know that I was right on that edge. My effort was extremely intense and calculated. I knew exactly what pace I had to run. I had been gauging my chances of meeting my realistic goal, of breaking 10 hours, since the halfway point of the bike leg.

I chose to go without technology (computer or GPS)  on the swim and bike legs. On the bike, I checked my watch and monitored the kilometer markers. On the run, I had my watch and my Garmin Forerunner 305 GPS, which I attached to my water belt. I didn’t check it often, but it was helpful to glance down every once in a while and see what pace I was running. I had jotted down three different pacing scenarios on a slip of paper and tucked them into a pocket. Of course, each scenario assumed that I could hold the desired pace for the entire distance.

I think that pacing is a key to an Ironman marathon. If you can maintain that pace, factoring terrain, then you can nail your goal, which I did. However, the last 10.5km was agony. I finished the 21km loop that “would never end” and then made it through the first 10.5km loop. Each time, you came back to the start/finish. After the first loop, you got an orange scrunchy to wear as an arm band. After the second, you got a black one. That way you could tell where you stood. I didn’t pay much attention to the age group markings (I am in 35-39) on people’s legs, but I was conscious when there was another “D” around me.

Debbie and the kids were cheering for me from a house that was about 1km from the finish. I heard them each time I came through (heading out on the loop and returning from each loop) and was pumped up. I never really saw them and my friends told me after the race that I looked possessed as I sped by. Like I said, it takes focus! For the most part, I passed a lot of folks on the run and got passed by only a few. The net result was that I picked up another 146 spots on the run, with many in my age group. It felt good to gain spots throughout the race. Again, it wouldn’t be such a dramatic improvement if I could only swim faster. I would also minimize the risks of having to work my way through so much traffic.  I was running 7:30’s for a while and then my pace crept above 8:00 min/mile to around 8:15 or so.

The last lap hurt so bad because I was pushing like heck. I gave it everything I had. I was hoping that the course markings were accurate. I knew I had to run
10.5km in less than the 8:00 minutes/mile pace again. When doing the math in my head, I had actually forgotten about the extra .5km, which could have been disastrous, but since I was so worried about the actual distance remaining, including the length of the finishing chute, I decided to increase my pace even more, which was asking a lot of my legs for the final part of an Ironman. I was hurting really badly, but stuck to my pace with a fierce determination. I kept repeating my chosen mantra out loud: “Be tough.”

Incidentally, Ironman Brasil has barged its way into my Toughest Ten races list. I’m not sure what it displaces, so for now, I’m putting it at 2.5 on the list behind Jay Challenge, and Sea to Summit, but ahead of American Zofingen and Ironman Lake Placid.  In the last 5km, I latched on to another athlete who came by me and looked determined to break 10. He became my rabbit and I sped up slightly to make sure that I was on track. When I saw the 1km banner, heard the raucous crowd at the finish line, and then saw the big Asics balloon, I was exhilarated. A couple of athletes caught me in the finishing chute, which was longer than expected, but it didn’t matter. I saw the big clock and was very pleased with my time.

I ended up running a 7:59.4 pace for the marathon, which was a huge key to my overall result. The official results show a little more than 1400 finishers out of 1626 registrants. I was 129th overall and 32nd out of 365 in my age group, which is the 91st percentile, a good place to be. The age group slots went to guys who did under 9:30, which given the time I have to train, is out of my league. If I had met my stretch goal, I would have been in the top 20 in my age group, which was the most competitive. A faster swim and faster transitions could yield that result, but I’m not disappointed. Breaking 10 hours was a serious accomplishment and earning the slot through the Ironman XC division is a great achievement.

Post Race

After the race, I was exhausted. I sat down just past the finish line in a photographer’s chair. Fortunately, no one asked me to get up. I stayed put for a few minutes trying to compose myself. I was smoked. I finally got up and made my way to the barriers where my family and friends were cheering wildly and taking photos. I was so shot, and the images show the “face of pain.” I whimpered a bit before getting some Gatorade. I couldn’t find any water and couldn’t communicate with anyone in the finishers tent.

It took a while to exit the finishing area. I couldn’t find an opening the fencing, and none of the security guards spoke English. It was frustrating, but I finally figured it out. I now know that it is “saida.” I got my finisher’s medal and a t-shirt on the way out. Finally, I met up with my family, which was emotional. I sat down on a pillar for a while. Christian Haep and Troy Brown from Ironman XC, tended to me. Christian and I went to the transition area and got my bags. The area was secured so it took a high level negotiation between him and one of the race directors to liberate my stuff. The sun was setting and it was cooling off. I was cold, so I put on knee warmers, a long sleeve jersey, and a vest. I sat in the bike area for while he sorted out the logistics of getting all my stuff. The security was tight, as it should be. We pulled some more strings and I walked out of transition 30 minutes after finishing. I had my bike, my gear, and a huge smile.

I returned via shuttle bus to the hotel with Debbie and the kids, and took a hot shower. Then I soaked my legs in a cold bath. I couldn’t eat much, but forced down recovery drink and some food. My stomach was really bad, but improved dramatically after I emptied its contents. I actually felt like a million bucks after that episode. I didn’t have the nausea like after Lake Placid, but it was certainly an uncomfortable feeling, and likely brought on by the huge amount of energy food (bars, gels, and drinks) that I took in during the race. It felt like total depletion, which is what it should feel like after an extraordinary physical effort. It wasn’t the length of the effort, but the intensity of it. Watching Debbie run 100 rugged trail miles in 20 hours convinced me that an ultra might be harder than an Ironman, but I’ll still give myself some credit.

Pre-Race & Goals

Originally, this race wasn’t even on my radar, but last Halloween, Mark Moses sent me a fateful e-mail. He knew that after Ironman Lake Placid, I was trolling for another Ironman event that might give me a shot at qualifying for Kona. I had introduced Mark to Troy Ford from the Ironman XC program, which premiered in 2009. Mark had competed with XC at the Ironman European Championship in Germany last July. XC appealed to me because an age group slot would require a serious result, some luck, and more training and rest time than I had. XC was open for qualifying CEO’s and executives who have major work responsibilities. I juggle competitive athletics with family, a huge workload, and many volunteer commitments. I don’t begrudge my position. I am happy with a more balanced life. Any extra training would likely yield diminishing returns for my athletic performance, but it would seriously impact all of the other things in life. I’m very fortunate to have the variety of interests, and I choose to squeeze it all in. Still, I clearly don’t train or rest as much as many of my age group peers.

Mark gave me 24 hours to decide if I was in for Brazil. Ironman Couer d’Alene was on my short list, mainly because an age group qualification seemed possible based on my analysis of previous year’s results. I wasn’t considering Lake Placid again because I wanted to try a different course, plus my family wanted to experience something new. Idaho would have been cool, but once I mentioned South America to Debbie, it was quickly decided. Neither of us had ever been there, so we figured it would be a great trip. Ironman logistics are challenging when you drive to a race, but going to another continent with your two young children would be difficult, but we are always up for a challenge. Leaving Horst Engineering for a week wasn’t a major issue. We have a talented group of people and being away from the family business is healthy. However, juggling my normal work schedule and other commitments, which didn’t change, along with all of the training, was hard. 10 hours a week is low by Ironman standards, but it was an increase for me.

That is what makes the Ironman XC program unique. It pits a group of CEO’s against each other. I just can’t get the amount of preparation required to battle with guys in the 35-39 age group. Of course, there is a step up in talent too. I might have had an outside shot with Coeur d’ Alene, or with a return trip to Lake Placid, but Brazil is known as super-competitive since it is the only qualifier in South America. It attracts the top age groupers from Brazil, Chile, Argentina, and elsewhere in Latin America.

So, after committing to the race on November 1st, I set four goals:

1) Get in the best shape of my life.

 

2) Break 9:45.

3) Break 10 hours.

4) Earn an Ironman XC Kona slot.

In 2009, I took on the Ironman challenge for the first time, and crafted my first training program in years. I had been winging it since the late-1990’s when I shifted my athletics from a train to race strategy to a race to train strategy. That strategy didn’t change in 2009, but I didn’t kill myself in events like I had in the past. I was also recovering from a sub-par 2008, when I suffered serious burn out mid-year. During my recovery, the two things that made the biggest difference were my diet (I went from vegetarian to vegan and also minimized my gluten intake), and I started swimming.

To achieve my four goals, I needed a plan. It didn’t need to be extensive, but it had to have elements of periodization, rest, and peak periods. I revisited some books and articles and talked with my old teammate and friend, Will Kirousis, who is a coach at Tri-Hard Endurance Coaching. I bounced some ideas off of him and then kicked it off on Christmas Day with a 5K road race pushing the kids in our Chariot CX-2. My training program wasn’t as scientific as it could have been and is non-traditional. Between New Year’s and Brasil, I raced an additional 11 times in various road running, trail running, mountain biking, road cycling, and triathlon events. The variety keeps me sane, but I still struggled to get in my goal of 600 minutes of activity per week. My biggest volume week was 12 hours, and that is less than half of what many other athletes do!

As for the four goals. I figured that if I achieved the first, the others would just happen. The second goal was the stretch goal. I analyzed past results and depending on the race, I thought that might be the time needed to qualify outright in my age group. Going into Ironman Brasil, I knew the XC competition and based on their past results, I would have a good chance of winning my division. However, I wanted a legitimately fast time to justify it and figured that breaking 10 hours would be that number.

Debbie and I met some great people on this trip. The Ironman XC program got a lot of support from Ken Glah’s Endurance Sports Travel organization. The help that we got from both XC and EST were critical for us to execute the logistics of this trip. Minimizing stress is a huge part of achieving a big athletic result, and I had a fair amount of it during the build up.

So, overall, Ironman Brasil was a sweet experience. Meeting some of the professional athletes was a treat. Australia’s Luke Mckenzie won the race in a stellar 8:07:39. Ezequiel Morales was second and Santiago Ascenso was third. The top female was Canada’s Tereza Macel who finished in 9:19:13. Dede Griesbauer was second and Maria Omar was third. Equally as inspiring as the pros are the challenged athletes, of which there were many. There were so many folks out on the course, vying for the recognition of being an Ironman. Like my family, many of them were there to support them. Once you do one of these races and feel the vibe, you understand why all of Ironman is one big family.

New England Season Opener Triathlon

The words, “Arctic cold front,” and “triathlon” aren’t often found in the same sentence, especially when swimming is involved. Today’s New England Season Opener Triathlon was an insane race because the weather was frightful. I went from nearly having heat stroke at 7 Sisters last week, to nearly having frost bite at today’s race. Only in New England could the weather be so drastically different from one week to the next. Today, it felt more like a late-November cyclocross race, at Hopkinton State Park, in Massachusetts.

When we waded into Hopkinton Reservoir for the 8:00 A.M. swim start, I don’t think the air temperature was more than 38 degrees Fahrenheit. The water was nearly 15 degrees warmer at 62. Unreal! No one wanted to get out. This sold-out triathlon demonstrates the pent-up desire of triathletes to race after a long winter. Folks were ready to get an event under their belt, and the ferocious start proved that. The churning of several hundred swimmers was a perfect complement for the white caps that were whipping across the frothy reservoir in front of a strong west wind. The gusts were nearly gale force, and the chop ended up sinking one of the fire department’s rescue boats. Note in the photograph that on the top of the dike, there is a very large wrecker truck getting ready to pull the boat from the drink.

Since one of the buoys kept moving, the swim course was shortened slightly. It was no more than a quarter-mile long. I could use the open water training, but I wasn’t complaining. Really, no one was. The real discomfort came on the 10 mile bike leg. I had trouble getting out of my wetsuit.  My feet were already cold. The short trot from the beach to the transition area proved that. I didn’t put socks on, opting to go barefoot. Between the wind chill and the fast pace, I couldn’t get warm no matter how hard I pedaled. I put on a long sleeve jersey in transition, but wore the same shorts that I had under my wetsuit, and I opted not to wear gloves. Another challenge was dealing with the wind gusts while in the aero bars. I’m glad that my Zipp 404’s don’t have that deep of a profile. Anyone with a disc or deeper dish rims needed to be careful not to lose control.

The bike course was in decent shape, with only a handful of bad spots on the roads. There were some potholes and frost heaves, but they were well-marked and easy to navigate. The bike course volunteers were numerous and helpful. They deserve thanks for keeping the course safe. I only had one close call with an SUV that turned in front of me. That was the only potential incident for me. I only went into the little ring once and I picked up a handful of spots on the bike leg. A duathlon was held in conjunction with the tri, and they started first, so I couldn’t really gauge where I stood in terms of placing. I just chased down as many people as I could.

I followed up my snail-like T1 with an even slower T2. I got my feet out of my cycling shoes and they were blocks of ice. They were so cold that I couldn’t feel them and I couldn’t get them into my running shoes. It was terrible. I struggled for what seemed like two minutes as I massaged them to get some blood flow. If I had elected to wear socks, they would have slid right in. I finally got them into the shoes, and took off on the five kilometer course. I picked up a couple more spots, but never warmed up. I finished in 58:12 and felt as if I never got going. The course was a mix of pavement, grass, gravel, and sand. The gravel section was across the top of the earthen dam that holds back the reservoir. The wind was blowing extremely hard across that dike.

The results were posted after the race, but they were hard to decipher. I got an award for third in the open division, but don’t know how I fared overall. It doesn’t really matter because I simply did the race to have some fun and get in the flow of a triathlon event. I know what I need to work on, and transitions are at the top of my list. It is bad to give up valuable time in the part of the race that requires no fitness. After the finish, I went back out and did another bike loop, then another run loop, and then one more bike loop. It was a really good training day despite the cold. I actually prefer this week’s conditions much more than last week’s.

The overall race organization was good. There were a ton of athletes, and a lot of newbies, which was great to see. Triathlon has gotten so popular and I love seeing the elite racers side by side with the weekend warriors. Let’s all hope that the weather gets better from here on out. There needs to be a happy medium between last week’s hot/humid suffer-fest and today’s arctic blast.

Race Results

Multisport World & Harvard Square

We drove to Boston today for Multisport World. Technically, the event was in Cambridge at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. All I have to say is that the trip was worth it solely for the time that I spent in MIT’s Zesiger Sports & Fitness Center Pool. What a facility! We had a great view of Cambridge and Boston from the top of the parking garage. I was thrilled to see Warren Towers in plain view. I was even more thrilled to see the Wikipedia entry for the dorm, that is sometimes referred to as the Zoo. It makes me smile to just think about 1990-1991.

I spent my freshman year at Boston University in the 7th floor of C Tower. There were 1800 students in that building. What a dorm; what a year. I had  a great view of Kenmore Square and the Citgo Sign. Today, you could see Kenmore from the top of the garage too. Very cool. The MIT gym, track, pool, fitness center, ice rink…and the aquatics center were fabulous. One large pool (divided in two) and a second training pool made for many lanes.

I participated in two swim clinics. One was geared towards efficiency using the Total Immersion method. The other was a speed training lesson. After two hours in the water, I now realize why I have a lot to learn about swimming technique. It isn’t going to come easy. The timing and technique are akin to driving a standard or dancing. You have to be coordinated and balanced. Power comes later. Of course, after spending two hours in MIT’s pool, I hope that I’m smarter now. Hopefully, the chlorine didn’t kill the brain cells that might have washed out of the Engineer’s ears.

Multisport World was pretty much like last week’s Gate River Run expo in Jacksonville. Though, there were more bikes, a few bathing suits, and a lot  more tri-geeks. I say that with love now that I have joined the club. I literally had my hands full with our two kids while Debbie attended a Chi Running workshop. Don’t ask me to explain what Chi Running is all about, but I know that she learned more about biomechanics and shoes. They discussed the move towards flatter (lower angle) running shoes.

I saw some friends, including an old teammate, Will Kirousis. Coach Will has made a name for himself with his Tri-Hard Endurance Sports Coaching business. He and his partner, Jason Gootman, had a booth and were greeting clients and potential clients. I stay in touch with Will via phone and Facebook, so it was cool to see him in person. We were both on the original Horst Engineering Cycling Team that started in 1997.

I also saw Jeff and Kat Donatello. Jeff was the Race Director of the Sea to Summit, and Kat is the Race Director of the Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival in Maine. They are active in the Maine multisport community, and had a booth for the Pumpkinman Tri. Seeing Jeff brought back all those painful  memories of the 2006 S2S when I finished on the summit of Mount Washington in a gale. The cold and ice, in July, were nasty after 112+ miles of suffering. S2S is on my Toughest Ten race list for a reason.

We left MIT after making the rounds, and headed to Harvard Square for some lunch at Veggie Planet. We ordered to go and ate on the street, taking in the sights and sounds of the square. Our son learned about an accordion, and donated $1.00 to a street performer who entertained us during lunch.

The weather was fabulous and we were slightly regretting all of the time spent in the car and inside. So, we headed home in time to squeeze in a workout. All in all, the Multisport World expo was worth the trip. If anything, it got us thinking more about the races ahead.

Post Ironman Lake Placid Recovery and Black Toenails

The week after Ironman Lake Placid has been filled with lots of normal stuff, including work, family obligations, and a little exercise. I haven’t run, but I swam once for 20 minutes, and I rode to work on Friday, which took 60 minutes. Overall, I am fatigued, so I’ve been taking it easy. My worst race injuries were to my toes and my right wrist. My wrist is sore from being in the aero position for nearly six hours. I may need to tweak my bars a bit. Lots of mouse clicking has exacerbated the problem. My toes are hurting pretty badly, with my left big one being the worst off. Describing the problem would probably make some people sick, so I’ll summarize by saying that the nail is going to come off (again) and that I’ve been performing a little home surgery (don’t tell my HMO) every night. I’ve had this problem twice before after very long runs, so I think I know the fix. I just need to avoid infection.

Overall, I’m pleased with my result and how I feel. I’m contemplating another race in 2009, but a lot of things have to fall into place for it to become reality. Whether I get another one in this year or not, I’ll certainly do on in 2010. Now that I’ve got a taste of what Ironman is all about, I’m thinking hard about a serious Ironman World Championships (Hawaii) qualification effort. This would likely require a dramatic performance improvement and more commitment from a lot of folks, including my family. I like setting goals, and this seems like a fun one, so we will see.

2009 Ironman Lake Placid

The 2009 Ironman Lake Placid triathlon was quite an event. Despite the meticulous preparation, you still don’t know what to expect when you line up for an Ironman. This was my first iron-distance triathlon, so there was a lot to be anxious about. Fortunately, I have  done a handful of other epic races in recent years, though none were triathlons involving swimming. I had two goals. The first goal was to finish the event strongly, which I defined as maintaining a competitive pace (not walking) for the entire distance and being coherent at the finish. I’ve perfected the “superfade” in the past and  have limped across finish lines before; but with all the preparation (mental and physical) that I put into Ironman Lake Placid, I wanted to hold it together. The secondary goal was to finish in the low-10 hour range. I simply wanted to be competitive in my age group and see if qualifying for the Ironman World Championships (Hawaii) was a feasible future option. Breaking 10 hours actually seemed mathematically feasible, but not in a first try, and probably not on this course (hills). My 4:40 at Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island (half distance) two weeks ago signaled the possibility, but also could have been a premature peak. I had backed off the throttle at that race, but I may have still expended too much energy without enough recovery time.

Ironman Lake Placid was epic in every sense of the word. That means that my race was epic, and that it was also evidently epic for pretty much everyone else. The distance (140.6 miles) alone is enough to qualify the race as a special one. 2.4 miles of swimming, 112 mile bike ride, and 26.2 mile run are hallowed distances in the sport of triathlon. The race organization was also epic. It simply ought to be for the level of investment (entry fees, gear, travel, training time, etc.) required. I got a preview of an Ironman brand event in Rhode Island, but this was the real deal. There are a limited number of official Ironman events around the world and Lake Placid is one of the special ones. It is a huge event. 2251 athletes went into Mirror Lake at the start on Sunday morning at 7:00 A.M. There were 208 DNF’s, but still, more than 91% finished. There were thousands of volunteers and spectators. Those are huge numbers for such a logistically challenging race. It seemed like Lake Placid, the adjacent communities of Wilmington, Jay, Upper Jay, Keene, Keene Valley, and the entire Adirondack Region of New York, came out in support of the event.

The volunteer presence was unlike anything I have ever seen before and I’ve done a lot of races. I am still shaking my head. It was mind boggling how many people came out to help and support the athletes. I appreciate everyone who pitched in. I have committed myself to learning more about World Triathlon Corporation, the parent of the Ironman brand, and North America Sports, the promoter of Ironman Lake Placid, and several other official races. The business side of this sport intrigues me. Our family business has been involved with team sponsorship and race direction for years, but this is race/event production at a big time level. It felt more like a rock concert than an triathlon. To learn more will be fascinating. Regardless, business was set aside on race day, and I was one of the 2251 triathletes who was hoping to become an Ironman or Ironwoman.

We arrived in Lake Placid on Friday and promptly registered for the event. The race itself had been sold out since last year, but I had obtained a coveted spot through the Ironman Community Foundation, a separate entity that allocates slots in exchange for an additional financial contribution that benefits Ironman venue communities. We were fortunate that our original plan to camp, didn’t need to be executed. We grabbed a last minute cancellation at a hotel right on Main Street, less than a quarter mile from the Olympic speed skating oval and Lake Placid High School, the hub of the weekend’s activities. On Friday night, I attended the pre-race meeting at the Lake Placid Horse Grounds. To avoid re-parking the van, I ran the 2.25 miles to the grounds (in a downpour) stayed for the meeting, and then ran back. On Saturday, I went for a short ride in the morning to loosen my legs. Then, I checked all of my gear into the transition area, including my bike and bags. I had inspected and re-inspected everything repeatedly, but for good measure, inspected it again when I dropped off the stuff. I scouted the transition area and swim start, before spending the rest of the day with the family.

Race day came on Sunday and it was a damp start. I wasn’t concerned about racing in the rain as much as I was concerned about chaffing and blisters. I love foul weather events and often perform well in adverse conditions, but with all the preparation, I was secretly hoping for sunshine and blue skies. We ended up getting a bit of everything. After I got my body marked, I returned to the transition area to inspect my gear again. Fortunately it was all there. I didn’t forget anything. I added some air to my tires and then got suited up. The first of three huge downpours hit about 45 minutes before the start. The second came just prior to the start, and the third was during the swim. That was the last of the rain, which was good. The roads remained wet for the first few hours of the bike ride, but by the end of the day, it was baking hot.

It is hard to describe what 2251 people swimming in Mirror Lake looks like. The photographs don’t do it justice. You just had to be one of the swimmers to fully experience it. My swim leg was as eventful as expected. I stopped twice to adjust my goggles, once after taking a nasty elbow to the head. I was concerned about one of my contacts (I had a spare set in transition), but I was able to reposition it, and get moving again. My time was even worse than expected, but I finished and that was the primary objective. Since I am a “bell curve” swimmer, meaning that half the athletes are faster and half are slower, I end up in lots of swim traffic. Being on the small side, I got pummeled. It was nerve wracking at times, but I never lost my breath or my cool. My shoulders are sore. I exited the water after the second lap, got help stripping off my wetsuit, and ran to the transition area at the oval.

I was in transition a bit longer than planned, but it was really congested. I didn’t even go in the tent. I changed outside on the lawn, before sprinting to my bike, which I had to fetch because the volunteers were overwhelmed with the swarm. That wasn’t a problem. I settled in quickly, but it took a while to find a rhythm. There was way too much bike traffic to work through. The slow swim put me behind more than 1000 bicyclists. That is a lot of folks to pass, and passing takes energy, especially on wet downhill roads. The first 15 miles wasn’t fun, as I tried to get by people and not waste too much energy. Everyone pretty much yielded so that I could get by on the left, but it was frustrating at times. Nevertheless, I worked my way continuously up the field. I started to hurt a bit around mile 45 as you begin climbing back towards Lake Placid from Wilmington. I definitely wasn’t rolling the bike like I did in Rhode Island. I was never on top of my gear and there was no snap in my legs. It felt more like a grind. At least in terms of the bike leg, it is likely that I peaked two weeks ago.

The start of the second lap was a little better, especially as the traffic got lighter. Eventually, I was able to ride on my own with less people around me, but it was painful when people passed because no one caught me in Rhode Island. I came back a bit at the end of the second loop and avoided bonking, which was a concern. I was warned about the 70-90 mile section of an Ironman bike leg. That is when people usually lose their focus and with it, lots of time. I picked up the pace a bit and got to 112 without a major problem. I did have a very sore right toe, which was jammed into my cycling shoe. That was annoying, but I can’t blame the slow riding on it. I saw a few crashes on the course, including a bad one in a feed zone. The rider just approached the volunteer with two much speed, tried to grab a bottle, and lost control. I think he was OK. Other than that, folks were in good spirits and handled their bikes pretty well.

I took time in transition two to make sure I was comfortable. I changed my socks and lubed my feet with a lot of Bag Balm. There are all kinds of special triathlete anti-chafe concoctions out there, but good old Bag Balm does the trick for me. I brought a little more lube on the run, just to make sure, but after the initial application, all body parts were fine. I didn’t waste time establishing the pace that I was aiming for. I didn’t even use my watch because I had forgotten to start it before the swim. I glanced at the time of day a few times, but mostly went on feel. I had been fueling well throughout the bike leg, but had grown tired of ingesting so much sugar in the form of energy bars, gels, and electrolyte drink. I used Clif products exclusively and took additional water at the aid stations. I had also brought a baggie full of little cooked potatoes, which was fabulous. I need to do that again if there is a next time. It was savory rather than sweet, and made a huge difference.

Anyway, during the run, I resumed my consumption of Clif Shots and Clif Bloks, but also worked in some grapes and bananas from the aid station. I needed a lot of water during the run. The sun was out in full force and the fresh blacktop was baking hot. I also liked the sponges that were handed out at the aid stations. They were very refreshing. I continued to pick off people during the run. My first half split was a respectable 1:44:33, but I ended up giving up 10 minutes in the second half. I closed the Ironman with a 3:39:11 marathon. You have to love chip timing. In the business world, I love data. In the sports world, I love it even more.

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
1:13:35	5:42:10	3:39:11	10:44:48	163	28

LEG	DISTANCE	PACE	RANK	DIV.POS.
SWIM SPLIT 1: 1.2 mi	1.2 mi (35:20)	1:51/100m
SWIM SPLIT 2: 2.4 mi	1.2 mi (38:15)	2:00/100m
TOTAL SWIM: 2.4 mi	2.4 mi (1:13:35)	1:56/100m	1023	180
BIKE SPLIT 1: 36 mi.	36 mi. (1:32:11)	23.43 mph
BIKE SPLIT 2: 56 mi.	20 mi. (1:09:26)	17.28 mph
BIKE SPLIT 3: 92 mi.	36 mi. (1:45:39)	20.44 mph
BIKE SPLIT 4: 112 mi.	20 mi. (1:14:54)	16.02 mph
TOTAL BIKE	112 mi. (5:42:10)	19.64 mph	328	66
RUN SPLIT 1: 13.1	13.1 mi. (1:44:33)	7:58/mile
RUN SPLIT 2: 26.2 mi	13.1 mi. (1:54:38)	8:45/mile
TOTAL RUN	26.2 mi. (3:39:11)	8:21/mile	163	28
TRANSITION				TIME
T1: SWIM-TO-BIKE				6:42
T2: BIKE-TO-RUN				3:10

With all of the emphasis on time, I have to pause and reflect on the accomplishment. I had a great experience, and so did Debbie and Shep. Everyone at home and at Horst Engineering has been a huge support during my training and build up phase. I’ve raced a lot in a 20+ year athletic career. After last year’s suffering (illness and fatigue), I actually cut back and reassessed. That is what led me to do this Ironman. I learned that rest is very important. I always knew it, but didn’t admit it. Age does slow you down. I’m blessed to still have a lot of great athletic years ahead of me, and I don’t want to waste them.

I had put Ironman on my “to do” list years ago, only to strike it from the list after running my first road marathon at Disneyworld in 2004. Running that race on pavement destroyed my legs and I promptly dropped Ironman from my future plans. Things change. Though I never ran another road marathon, I increasingly did more long distance trail running, working up to nearly 40 miles. In my family, that is considered a short run. As long as I was running trails, I recovered from the efforts with only modest muscle damage. Coming into 2009, I needed a change of pace. I have bounced from cross country running to road cycling to mountain biking to adventure racing to trail running and back. In recent years, I have frequently altered my regimen in order to remain interested in the training and lifestyle required to maintain top athletic performance. Last winter, I decided to to start swimming seriously, not realizing how beneficial it would be. Naturally, my shoulders and back have experienced a new type of soreness, but the positive cardiovascular effects of swimming have been a huge benefit to both my cycling and running fitness. I loved my early 20’s when I could pile on a bunch of miles, show up at a bike race, get results, and have fun. However, given the demands of family and work, I think I’m in better shape now than ever.

If I never do another Ironman, then there are no regrets, because I’ve discovered swimming. However, I think I’ve got the bug. The Ironman World Championships in Kona do seem like a long shot, but setting goals is something I’m used to. I’ve got to recover from the most recent thrashing before I decide to up the ante. After the race, I was all smiles, but by the time we got back to the hotel room, I couldn’t hold my head up. I was shot. I managed to wash up and we went for dinner down the street. I was only able to get three bites of my dinner in before I got nauseous. Deb and Shep took care of the bill and I headed to bed. I was out for nearly five hours before waking up around 11:40 P.M. I was famished. Deb was quite helpful, in that she had brought my entire dinner back and put it on ice. I ate every morsel while listening to the Ironman finish line party  at the oval. You could hear the announcer whipping the crowd into a frenzy as the last finishers straggled onto the oval. I was soaking it all up, from my fourth floor hotel room. It was a cool feeling. The same race I had finished, more than six hours earlier, was close to ending and people were still out there struggling to finish. What a battle it must have been. I can’t imagine being on that course for 17 hours.

So, overall, I am very pleased with the outcome. Whether you are one of the professionals, a top amateur, or one of the thousands of folks just looking to finish; you can’t wing an event like this. You have to prepare and focus. That is part of the allure. The other part of the allure is being there with all of the other athletes and their families. As overproduced and melodramatic as Ironman seems, I think it is pretty cool.

Full Results

2009 Pat Griskus Triathlon (Sprint Race)

The Pat Griskus Triathlon is the real deal. I first heard about this race years ago, but had never done it or even seen it. I only heard about it. I never gave triathlon a serious go until this year, so when I laid out my 2009 plan, I knew that Griskus was going to be on it, even if it wasn’t going to be one of my “A races.” I did the younger Griskus Olympic distance race last month, but the classic is the Wednesday night sprint race that has been held in early July for the past 23 years.

The race is wildly popular with Connecticut triathletes and is known for the huge number of first timers that compete every year. Griskus is often a triathlete’s entry into the sport and the race has to be one of the largest of its kind in New England. There were 501 finishers last night. More than 100 of them were first timers. That is remarkable considering that most people worked yesterday too! The other interesting thing is that 400 people came back and did it again. For many, it is probably their only triathlon of the year.

Held in Middlebury, Connecticut at Quassy Amusement Park, the race includes a 1/2 mile swim, a 10.5 mile bike, and a 3.1 mile run. The park was jammed with its regular customers and there were many spectators too; so it was a crowded venue. The swim course in Lake Quassapaug was just fine. I gave up nearly four minutes to the fast guys, which is something I’ll need to work on. It put me at a big disadvantage heading into the bike leg. I was also seeded in the second wave, so I was already three minutes behind the top triathletes. That is no big deal, but it would have been fun to compete side by side with those guys. The race was scored on net time anyway. The bike course was on the undulating and beautiful roads around Middlebury ,and I had a lot of fun with the downhills. The run course was an out and back leg from the park with some significant elevation change for a short course. 

I made up good time on the bike and run, finishing in 1:03:17. I was secretly hoping to break 60 minutes, but I didn’t really come close. I was training through this race, so maybe in another year, it will get more focus. Regardless, times are meaningless when you have so much fun. The race had great sponsors, wonderful volunteers, and a cool vibe. I saw a number of athletes with disabilities, including a guy on a hand cycle. That was inspirational.

The top three men were Domenic Gillen, Christopher Thomas, and Ian Ray. Gillen put up a 55:52, which is really fast and faster than his 2008 winning time. He had the fastest splits on two of the three legs. The top three women were Cassandra Maximenko, Michelle Wolfson, and Robin Passander. Maximenko’s time was 1:05:38. You can view the full results here. The competition was great, but it was even more interesting and fun to see all of the finishers telling their stories after crossing the line. The post race party was lively and I heard it lasted long after the sun set. We wish we could have stayed longer, but Thursday was another work day, we had a long drive home, and my three year old was running on fumes.

Race Results

Lake Placid Recon

I’m in an Adirondack state of mind. On Saturday, after a few hours of work at the shop, I drove to Lake Placid, New York on  a reconnaissance mission. Ironman USA is less than a month away and this was my last chance to scout the course. I’m in build up mode with two weeks of hard training left. I wanted to ride both the run and bike legs. I left Hartford in the sun and drove right into another round of Northeast storms. Our Friday night storms were wild with wind, rain, and nasty lightning. On Saturday, it was mostly rain, but torrential at times. Sections of I-87 were white knuckle driving. 

I made it to LP safely and parked in town. I suited up and rode one lap of the 56 mile bike course. I’ll have to do it twice in the race, but I didn’t have enough daylight this time. I ended up riding for a few more hours to get five total. My GPS wasn’t performing, so I’ll have to guess at mileage, but it doesn’t really matter. I was soaked to the bone after steady rain in the second half of the ride. I was also covered in sand, so they don’t have to worry about sweeping the roads. I took care of it for them. After dinner and and UBU Ale at the Lake Placid Pub & Brewery, I found a place to camp for the night. 

It had been a few years since I was in LP. I used to go a couple times a year for road bike races, including the Tour of the Adirondacks. The place really is a sports Mecca. We rarely get to the Adirondack Mountains. When you live in New England, the White Mountains and Green Mountains are your preference. The drive is about the same distance, but we do most of our hiking in New Hampshire and Vermont. Of course, now that we have done all 67 of the 4000 footers in New England, we may eventually turn our sights to New York where there are 46 more mountains to climb.

LP is like an athletes’ paradise. The whole town seems very welcoming. I’m not sure if that is why it was suitable for hosting the Olympics (twice) or if it is a result of hosting the Olympics. On Sunday, after morning fog, it turned out to be really nice. I got up and rode to Wilmington, then continued half way up Whiteface Mountain. I stopped at the toll booth because all of the signs said the road was closed to bikes. I should have ridden around the barricade and kept going, but it was all uphill and my legs weren’t great. I returned to LP for some breakfast and an early departure. I’ve always wanted to ride the official bicycle hill climb. It is a total of 8 miles up from Keene, so I’ll add that to my to do list. 

 

When I got back to town, it seemed as if the whole town had woken up. On one stretch of road, I saw swimmers in the lake, other cyclists, runners, horse jumpers, fly fisherman, rock climbers, lugers (on the road), and hikers. It was wild. The lugers were coming down a hill next to the ski jumping complex, which is across the road from the horse show grounds. I got photos of both sides of the street without moving.

One my way home, I stopped at Marcy Field to visit the Keene Farmers’ Market. I did a little shopping before hitting the road again. It was a lot nicer drive on the way back to Connecticut, but I was weary from the whirlwind 30 hour trip. I spent 10 hours in the van and 7 hours on my bike, all in an effort to get a preview of the course. I think the scouting mission will prove its worth. 

Speaking of luge-while I was on the road, I came across a “Luge Mom” of sorts. This is the Lake Placid version of a soccer mom. Someone was probably a luger back in the day based on the license plate on the SUV. I think the 1984 Winter Olympics was in Sarajevo. 

We are bound to have a good time in Lake Placid again next month.

2009 Pat Griskus Triathlon (Olympic Race)

We awoke at the crack of dawn today so that I could finally compete in my first triathlon of the year. Last month, I went to Harriman State Park for a Half Iron-distance race, but it turned into a long duathlon because heavy fog caused the swim to be cancelled.

Today’s race was the Pat Griskus Triathlon (Olympic Race) at Quassy Amusement Parkin Middlebury, Connecticut.   There are two Griskus races, with the older (23 years) Sprint Race scheduled for its usual Wednesday night slot on 8 July. I’m doing that one two because I have always wanted to do the summer race. It is one of the most popular triathlons in New England.

Today’s race consisted of a 1 mile swim/25 mile bike/6.2 mile run. It started at 7:00 A.M., which is good and bad. The bad part is that we had to get up so early. The good part was that the race was over by 9:30 and we were home by noon with the whole afternoon to relax and do stuff around the house.

My first triathlon was in 1999. My second was in 2002. My third was today. I wanted a change of pace in 2009, so I chose triathlon as my focus. I never took it seriously in the past, but this year, I’m giving it my all. I’ve been swimming a lot and I built a triathlon/TT bike purpose especially for these events. I’m working my way up to the Ironman distance, but I’m not ready yet.

I was a bit nervous about the mass start open water swim. With limited experience, and none recently, I really didn’t know what to expect when 200 people charged into Lake Quassapaug with arms and legs flailing. I did OK. It certainly isn’t like swimming in the pool where you have lane lines, clear water, and your own space. My biggest problem was swimming straight. I kept looking up and making course corrections, which is horribly inefficient.

My transitions were OK, but not great. Getting out of the wetsuit was easier than expected, but I was just slow. I opted for comfort (e.g. socks) rather than speed. I was watching the hard core guys and gals. They have the drill down pat. The bike leg was my strong leg today. I made up ground the whole way and just ran out of road otherwise I probably could have continued improving my position. The course was beautiful with lots of ups and downs. It was moderately technical with several tight turns and some rough pavement to deal with.

The run went OK. I picked up a few more spots on the twice out and back course. There were a few hills to contend with. Once you did the first out and back leg, it was difficult to chase because the first leg runners were mixed in with the second leg runners. That was a minor frustration, but no big deal.

I ended up 14th overall in 2:21:19 and was 5th in my age group, which met expectations. After the mediocre swim, I did a lot of passing, which is OK, but next time I don’t want to lose so much ground in the water. I had a lot of fun, as did many others, which was the main objective. I simply needed to do a triathlon so that I could go into the next one with more confidence. The Pat Griskus volunteers were awesome. There were lots of road marshals and police on the bike course; the aid stations were well stocked, and the finish area had a mini-expo set up with lots of post-race refreshments.

I’m still adjusting to the triathlon scene. The culture is the complete opposite of trail running. There is a lot more gear. The entry fees are much higher (excluding ultramarathons). Most people spend more time training. There are lots of do-dads in addition to all that gear. The top athletes have a certain intensity. The trail running scene is much more mellow. We are going to get a chance to chill out tomorrow because we are taking part in a Father’s Day tradition, the Mt. Greylock Trail Race. I hope the race numbers that had been written on my arm and calves with black magic market fade by then. Othwerwise, I’m going to be getting some serious flak!

Race Results: Click on results and go to Pat Griskus.

Cannondale Shuttering US Production

It was reported yesterday that Cannondale is closing down much of its US production. Only assembly, a limited amount of machining, some assembly, and some other processes will remain at their Bedford, Pennsylvania plant. Complete bicycle frame set production will cease.

Amazingly, it wasn’t even the lead item in www.cyclingnews.com Tech News. A new Scott TT frame (which is already imported from Asia) led the news. Off-shoring in the bicycle industry just isn’t big news anymore. Taiwan is home to most of the high end manufacturing and China is the place to pump out the production. Even Cannondale has been importing its carbon fiber frame sets from Taiwan since 2007. Their operations in Taiwan will likely serve as a base to source the majority of production in China. Still it is sad, in some respects, to see a big name like Cannondale (founded in Connecticut with design and marketing still located here) without a major presence in the US.

Of course, Cannondale really isn’t Cannondale anymore. Joe Montgomery founded the company in 1971 and it was run like a lot of small businesses are run, for many years. Today, it is just a “brand” owned by some anonymous conglomerate. Montgomery lost control of Cannondale after major growth, an ill fated foray into motorsports (ATV’s and motorcycles), and after going public. The company spent time in bankruptcy and was eventually acquired by a private equity firm and is now owned by Dorel Industries. Dorel also owns the Scwhinn, GT, Mongoose, and Sugoi brands, which are all focused on cycling.

I rode my Cannondale CAAD9 to work today. It is my team bike and I like it. It is aluminum with an imported carbon fiber fork. Both seat stays have large decals that say, “Handmade in USA.” I’ve been eyeing the Cannondale Slice frame set as my potential triathlon bike for 2009. I’m close to ordering one. I hemmed and hawed about this purpose built triathlon bike because I’m sentimental about US made bicycle products. Of course, I’m more of a realist nowadays. Plus, the domestic bikes I was researching cost a fortune by comparison.

It will cost a lot less for Cannondale to have new decals printed, than to keep the Bedford plant humming. My hunch is that they won’t be so focused on broadcasting the new message: “Handmade in Taiwan or China.”