spin / second sole multisport team

Ahhh, August in NE Ohio. The temperature is high, the fitness is there, the events are many, and the racing is fast. With a full load to choose from, SSSMST picked…well…everything! We had racers present all over the area across various disciplines. Hell, Rob Reddy even tackled some crazy uphill bike race in Colorado.

Mid-week, Aaron Rood, Brandy Smith, Scott Zubricky, and Brian Stern showed up to the Twilight Trails 8k. An interesting running race format that seeds people by age, and gives the elders a head start….school yard rules! Stern also doubled up in style winning the Carnation Triathlon.

On the weekend, Patrick Kolozvary rode the MS150, raising a significant amount of money for the fight against MS (of which his father suffers). While Scott Zubricky surfaced again to race the Life Banc Gift of Life 10k in honor of his late wife Barb; a cause she was extremely passionate about. Nice one guys

Aussie Rob, Leah Halloran, and Bruce Macdonald had a crack at the Smith Dairy Milk Race in Orville where Aussie took 3rd in the CAT 2/3 race; while Leah raced to her limit, and Bruce showed that having a plan is awesome if you stick to it.

The rest of the crew descended on the oven that people occasionally call the Vermillion Tri/Du. This venue has never seen a mild day in it’s 3 year existence, but this year was easily the most brutal yet. Aaron Rood took 2nd OA in the du, Jen Petkovsek finished 5th OA in the womens oly, while Andy and the better looking half of the Krollahans (Anne) won their age groups. Kevin gutted it out and earned a respectable 14th OA.

Click through for the (many) reports!

Reddy in Colorado –

Copper Triangle is an 80 mile – approx 6500 foot bike event – considered one of  Colorado’s major bike events.

All I can say is we never rode on flat ground.

Freemont pass was high, cappin at about 11,300 feet.  The Double climbs over the continental divide near Tenessee pass with its switch backs and winding descents was awesome.  But the final climb over Vail Pass and several steep pitches that were well over 15% and close to 15 miles of climbing was tough – people were walking their bikes.  But the fun part was passing 386 (yes I counted them) people going up Vail and only getting passed by one dude.

Ridding in CO os COMPLETELY different than Oh – and tons of fun.  Planning to head back in ’11 for the Tripple By-Pass and an additional week of training in prep for IMLP.

Rood at the 8k –

This is a favorite race of mine.  Trails, Woods, Hills, Reverse Stagger Start, Pizza, Beer everything you need to have the perfect venue.   Holding true to form, this race was HUMID- It was like running has fast as you can in shower.  I have run this race 5 times now, and 4 times I have finished with the exact same time.

Great to see Stern, Brandi, Jenn P and Scotty Z out there suffering.

Brandy also at the 8k –

LOVE this race, although not as much this year as most.  I had some serious stomach cramps during the run, but pushed through to a respectable time.  Jen P raced on “team HTFU” with Beth Heier, and I thought of them whenever my brain really wanted to tell my legs to walk because it hurt.

Enjoyed beer and pizza at the finish, as usual.  A great race for a great cause.  Great company, too!  🙂

Stern with his double report –

Two races in one week
Race One: Twilight Trail 8K Cross Country Race Aug. 12
Hot and humid as it always is on this unique handicap race (the older runners get a head start based on age and the first person to cross the finish line in each category wins).
So, it is one event that is nice to be older and still be able to run slightly quick. Team mates  Arron, Jen, and Scott are all there and regulars for this race of suffering (sickos).
I ran hard and felt all the hills and both ascending and descending, not bothering to look at mile splits knowing the youngsters are chasing you down. So, I suffer through and catch everyone except two fast females with a four minute head start to win the overall male race (30:04) and run the second fastest time of the night. The hard effort puts a strain on my tendonitis in both lower legs (ouch).

Race Two: Carnation Olympic Triathlon Aug. 15
The rain holds but it is still warm and humid as we wait in the water for a slightly short 1000 meter swim (GPS 943M). I come out of the water down by 2.5 minutes on the leaders and get to the bike.I pushed over the rolling course slowly puling back time and catching all but two by T2.I see the leaders and catch Christian Kurliko at mile one and then finally catch Dave Mecili at mile two. I continue to suffer and follow the lead car to finish in unofficial time of 2:02:30. I was feeling my tendonitis and the increase in hourly training as I started building for my next two 70.3 race’s.

Scott at the Life Banc –

On Thursday I joined Aaron and other teammates at the Twilight 8k. When Aaron talked me into it, I had forgotten about the 10k race I signed up for on Saturday. We did a 4 mile warmup and got ready for the race. I had alot of fun and raced a little harder than I wanted, but thats how it goes.

On Saturday my daughter Rachel and Adam and I raced the Life Banc races at Blossom. We received a letter in June telling us about the event and we decided then to do the race in honor of Barb. They have a 5k and 10k race, a walk, and they also have a ceremony and memorial park to honor donors and recipients. Rach and Adam did the 5k and I did the 10k. We expected a typical road race and didn’t realize everything else they had there. After we arrived and registered we hung around a bit, and we were amazed by all the people that were there to support and honor their loved ones. People had made shirts and posters, and many had large groups. Most people did the walk but the run still had a decent amount. The course was tough with a lot of rolling hills, all within the blossom campus. Rach ended up winning the women’s 5k, Adam placed third and I won the 10k. Sitting around after the race and listening to the speakers at the awards ceremony made us really realize the full impact of the event and how many people that are truely touched by donors. I suggest becoming a donor if your not and talking about it with your family if you are. We will be returning to the event next year and recommended it to others.

Patrick on his LONG ride –

Not exactly a race report, more of a ride report…
This was my first year to particpate in the MS150, Pedal to the Point.  My father has had Multiple Sclerosis for over 20 years, so the cause is near & dear to me. I have felt guilty for not participating in the past, so this has been on top of my “to do” list.  One of my buddies from high school recruited me & Erin to ride this year & timing worked out perfectly with our race schedules to join in.
Early Saturday morning we opted to go for the “extra” 25, so we rode a century on saturday. A nice evening at Soak City & BW3 on saturday got the legs ready for another 75 on sunday.
I was amazed by the range of bikes & people I saw out there riding.  Peppered in with all the spandex was some people wearing jeans & riding mountain bikes…i think they got a much better workout than me.  The event is extremely well supported by tons of great volunteers.

Thanks to all who donated this year, I sincerely appreciate it. I’m sure I’ll do it again next year, let me know if you are interested in joining me!

Leah at Milk –

On Sunday, I made my way to the Milk Road Race.  I was quite excited because we had a good sized women’s field.  We were racing 3 ten mile loops.  The first loop was pretty easy, the pack stayed together and I was actually feeling good.  We get a mile or two into the second lap and Sally (Summa Care) takes off.  The group counter attacks and we have formed an 8 woman break.  The whole time I’m just thinking…..Man, it’s really hot and windy!  A few miles later, we reach the only hill and three ladies attack of the front.  I somehow manage to hang on and we form a break of four.  Now I’m thinking….Man, it’s really hot and windy and I don’t feel so good.  I try to stay in the break but I’m feeling worse with each pedal stroke.  My face is on fire and I have goosebumps everywhere.  I really just want to stop.  I slowly fall off and I’m caught by 3 or 4 girls, so I sit in.  I try to drink as much as I can (only to find out I have little water left) and I eat the last of my shotblocks.  We cross the line to begin the last lap and I really think I should stop. But, for some reason, I keep going.  I don’t remember much of the lap only that it was hot, windy and I didn’t feel good.  We finally finish and I end up 7th and get a little trip to the ambulance.  I’ve never bonked during a race so I guess I had it coming.  I really wish our race entry included a milkshake!

Bruuuce –

I had a lot of good advice going into this race, and I took none of it.  I haven’t been doing a lot of road racing, so sit int he pack, don’t do any work, and go strong at the end made sense.  I did the exact opposite, and died on the last half mile.  I really need to start finding more hills to ride on.
Anyhow, finished with the pack, watched Aussie climb back into his pack on the start of the final lap, and end up with a third.  Leah left it all on the road, for a strong finish in the womens field.

Aussie –

It’s one thing to do well in a 3/4 race at Zoar, but racing 2s had me questioning my chances at the milk race, so i resigned myself to work for Dave Steiner (a CAT2 himself) of Team Spin after seeing him ride really well the previous Tuesday in Westlake. Spin had 8 riders in the field, which gave us the numbers. There were some real threats though with a number of Carbon, RGF, and Panther riders present also. Throw in a few CAT guys, and an assortment of other strong dudes and i thought “this is gonna hurt.”

The first lap was relatively uneventful from my perspective, but right away it was a lot faster than the road races in the lower cats i’d experienced this year. Spin was well represented at the front though, and on the 2nd lap, after covering some moves and burning some matches, Steiner told me to go to the front and patrol while he recovered some. So i did, and figured the best way to take off the pressure was to attack and either force others to chase me, or to already be present up the road if another group got away. I was off for a few miles, but it was futile against that peloton, and i was slowly brought back. That put me pretty deep into the red and i spent much of the 3rd lap trying to recover. It was starting to get hot.

By the 4th lap i was feeling ok again and decided to have another dig and hopefully soften up the field for a strong counter by Dave, or anyone else in a Spin kit who felt spry. I didn’t realise until i bridged up to them that there were 3 guys already up the road; sweet! Not long after bridging though we were joined by several guys, including Matt Weeks and Dave Chernosky….eep! I’d done a lot of work by this time, was tired, and it was getting hotter. Just before the last lap i got tailed off the break…..”shit, can’t drop, that’s the race!” Managed to chase back on when they slowed a touch, but i felt awful; it was so hot! The last lap sucked, but it was the last lap so i consoled myself with the thought of the suffering being over soon.

Rolled towards the finish and it was hard to tell who had what left. All i knew is that i had to sprint. Figuring Weeks to be the strongest dude there, i lined up on his wheel and waited for his move….and waited….and waited…..”shit, Matt must be really tired” as two dudes made their move. Running out of real estate i decided to jump myself. Picked up a couple of places and sprinted into 3rd. Not a win, but all things considered, I’m super happy. Hardest race yet. Leah and i slumped down leaning against the car and choked down Jen Davila’s delicious cookies that were way better than my taste buds appreciated at the time.

Andy at Vermillion –

Sprint triathlons have pros and cons…

PROS:
Going fast is fun.
Don’t worry about “pacing” or “nutrition”
Suffering is short-lived.
Finish before it gets really hot.
Showered, dressed, drinking water (and etc.) by Olympic finish

CONS:
Going fast is hard.
Going as hard as you can for an hour hurts.
Suffering is very intense.
Not as cool as anything called “Olympic”

HFP Races continue to be the best races around.  They not only present bang for the buck, but also just a lot of bang.  They had *multiple* volunteers at every corner on the bike course, which is astonishing.  I hear the Olympic run could have used some shade, but whatever– that’s yer own darn fault for wanting to run that far.

The swim was wet, and lonely, and long, and hard…  and it was glassy smooth and wetsuit-legal.  I think I should swim more.

The bike was drier.  This course is deceptive– with false-flat chipseal for the first 6 miles, you feel like you have a flat tire or wood in your legs, but then you turn around and go about 30 on the way back, and life is good again.  I tried to keep the hammer down, but would have been happier with a faster split.  Volunteers at every corner, and more… can’t say enough about that.

The run was fine, but holy heck someone turned on the oven.  The sprint course is pretty understated and, again, well staffed with aid and help.  Very surprised with an AG win!

Rood in the oven –

suffer suffer suffer. I can’t say much more than that.
Hot, Humid and absolutely brutal

My hopes of three-peating for the overall win ended about 4 minutes into the race, when the complete arse beating began.-  About one minute behind the leader after the first run. And my bike was no better.

The final run was absolute test of  survival.  No  chance I was  going catch the leader, so I was more than happy to run hard enough (and not any harder) to finish second overall.

In more than twenty years of racing, I can’t remember every racing in hotter more humid conditions.

Vermilion is a great race and perfect venue.  I did have a great time “re-hydrating”  with some  friends.   I will be back next year, but please God turn down the heat

Krollahan #1 on the shelf above Aaron –

There’s hot, hotter, then hell.  I think this was the latter.  Despite it being wickedly hot last year for this event, I think yesterday it went over the top.
I’m just going to comment on the run, because thats where everything took place.  Or didn’t.  First and last two miles are nice because there’s shade, people out with hoses and you’re just starting or finishing your race.
Miles 2-4 everyone’s pretty pissed.  Its sunny, fairly straight with no end in sight and you’re face feels like that fried egg you really would rather be having.  Lets just say there was absolutely no resemblance to the “sort-of” running form I felt I had at Maumee and Huntington.  Felt like a shuffle from the start, and that’s all there was.  Except when I went into shut-down mode about mile 4-1/2.  Tough race course, made brutal by the conditions.
Now I’m done.

Krollahan #2 kicking arse and eating wings –

Suffered on the run!  I got my T times way lower as I have been practicing.  The bike was great.  I will never race under those conditions again…ok…until next year after I have forgotten about it! It was great to see folks to recap the race at Quaker Steak, too!

Jen beating the heat (and nearly everyone else) –

This is always a fun, but tough race and yesterday was no different! For some reason I really struggled to make it through the swim, wondering why I do tris and not dus…finally out of the water and onto the bike. About 4 miles in I got stung! All I could think was “ouch!” that hurt. Then the hills came and going down lovely Dean Rd my back tire almost slid out and I nearly lost it and couldn’t help say aloud “this road sucks!” but onward and upward. I was happy to make it through and start heading back where I could pick up some speed and get to running. The run was hot! Thank goodness there were some folks with hoses out and I thought it was funny they were kind enough to ask I’d we wanted a spray to which the answer was a definite yes or thumbs up! I was so glad to be back to the finish and took a refreshing dip in the lake. Had a great time after at Quaker steak for some cold beer and wings with some of the team.

Filed under: 2010 | Tagged: bike races, hot hot heat, results rehash, running races, triathlon |