What Smitty said.


BUMP for the last time. Ride is ON for tomorrow (Sunday) am, rain or shine!!!!
(looks like the rain will be gone by then. Roads may still be wet for a while, but no worries. Builds character.)

A-Z COURSE RECON : This Sunday, Sept 7th. ML and I will be doing 2 bike loops and a run loop. Meet at Spring Farm at 7am. The train leaves 7:15am sharp. All are welcome. Just post here if you plan on joining us. Thanks!

Plan is to ride 2 consecutive loops of the bike course, at just a bit below "race pace" (which really shouldn't be insanely hard anyway, 'cuz the assumption is that you'll still want to be able to run a hilly 15m afterwards on raceday).

Please be prepared to have whatever fluids and fuel, etc you think you'll need for a 3-3.5 hr ride.
While we will be passing by the entrance to the Spring Farm lot, it's about a half k each way in and then back out to the lot, so we'd rather just go around again.

See ya in the am!
-M

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float , hammer , and jog

hay
How was the ride ?

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Slowtwitch bitchist place on planet earth

i'm out for tomorrow, picked up a nice sore throat at work this week, 3 hrs in the car round trip, getting up at 4:30 a.m..etc..

have fun, careful not to wash out on the slick 45 mph plus descents..

will look forward to meeting you all at the a.z. if not before, i have sun-tue off most weeks, so my long rides tend to be mon/tue.

thanks for the invite. stoked on the a.z coming up!

You are very funny!

It

was

AWESOME.

Absolutely perfect weather today, whatta difference a day makes!! Cool, clear skies, light breeze, low humidity - did I mention?
Perfect.

T_D, Katzbike and myself banged out 2 solid laps, 1:36 and 1:35. Then a loop of the run course (with the .3m extra in from the parking lot, and another .8m extra, cuz I'm a tard and took us on a extraneous out and back). So we ran 6.1 insteada 5. Nice day for it.

Caught about the first dozen or so riders of the SOS coming up the big hill to Minne. Tetsuoni looked to be in about 4th at that time (but you never know, due to the wave starts). The lead dude had a sizeable gap over 2nd place.

Road conditions were amazingly good, dry, clear of debris (other than a coupla dead possum, that is ;-).
Trails were in excellent condition, and also surprisingly dry as well.
Other than my navigational faus pas, it was about as good as it gets.
-M

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float , hammer , and jog

It was just awesome out there today. You and TD were riding and running really well. I was really happy to hang in there (barely) with the big dogs like you and TD. I am looking forward to another recon trip between now and the race. Maybe a one lap ride and one lap run. As you have witnessed, I really have the one lap thing down pretty good. ;- )

Enjoy the rest of the day. I am comfortably crashed on the couch in front of the TV watching football and probably will not be moving any time soon.

Any tips/info/FYI/description for the folks who will do AoZ "blind"?

Thanks,
Fred.

You held up a LOT better on lap 2 this year than last, for sure!

I checked my '07 log, and the lap times (for me) for that recon ride were:
1:38, and 1:33. (we purposely went "easier" that first lap, then gunned it a bit for lap 2).

For the race itself, I went 1:31, 1:32, 1:39 (one of these things, is not like the others... ;-)

3 weeks ago, tetsuoni's hammerfest A-Z ride (w/ no run afterwards) was 1:28.5 and 1:30. Yeouch!
And then crippled for the next day or 2. :-p


PS - I saw the Team Lipstick ladies again on the way home, they were going across 299 on the far side of town.
Scha-wing!!!!! : )

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float , hammer , and jog

dead opossum ! Do I smell dinner

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Slowtwitch bitchist place on planet earth

Yup, in Ulstertucky, possum road kill's good eatin'

Good to see Murphy, TD and Mr. Katz out there today.

Murphy's right about the waves. I started in the 7th wave and ended up 2nd fastest bike at SOS; the dude off the front took it. Luckily, I then sandbagged the 3 real runs and 3 swims so I could win the sprint to the tower.

Alex Sherwood finally won overall and Dr. Mike was 3rd overall. Stefan Judex, an AmZofer, was 2nd overall. Another AmZofer, Phillip Vondra, was 6th overall, with myself in 5th. All in all, a good day.

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2015 American Zofingen Du is May 17.
R.I.P. Chris Gleason

Was Dr Mike not sporting his customary race kit? I didn't recall seeing him, but perhaps it was just too much of a blur with us going by down the hill to make everybody out.

Who was the lead cyclist on the Crackn'fail?

Glad Alex finally won his "own" race. Did he bust on himself when he called himself up to the podium to award himself the hardware? ;-)

The sprint to the tower is the real race within the race. Had I known about that last year, I woulda planned accordingly.


All the current and former A-Z crew in SOS begs the question - is the SOS/A-Z prime out there again this year?
That'd be pretty funny if YOU won it. You'd hafta write yerself a nice check. : )

I hope ya didn't avail yerself too much of the post race feast. This is probably the only "HIM distance" (I use that loosely) multisport event where it is likely that EVERYBODY actually gains a coupla pounds by the end of the day!!!!

PS - CONGRATS on the great result today!!!!

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float , hammer , and jog

Fred,

Here are a couple of things that come to mind. I am sure other AmZof veterans can weigh in with some pointers as well.

After today's ride, I have definitely decided to go with my Tri bike as compared to a road bike. A 27 on the rear cassette would not be a bad thing.

What I found most difficult about the bike loop is more the length and volume of the hills as compared to the steepness. The hills take it out of you a little bit at a time, softening you up as you go along. There are only a couple of spots where I felt I needed to stand to climb. One, near the top of the first climb and the other near the end of the loop. Once you exit the Preserve and get to Mountain Rest Road, you will begin climbing immediately. Be careful not to overdo it at the start, you may be feeling good, but you have a long day ahead of you. You will climb to the overpass and then you are rewarded with a screaming downhill. There are a couple of twists and turns (one of which is off camber) so you need to be attentive on the downhill. The street that you turn onto after the downhill is not too bad, mostly rolling. The climb on Route 44/55 (I think that is the road) is long, there is a downhill section in the middle of it, but it is only a tease as you wll be climbing more until you hit Minnewaska. Most of the last third of the bike loop has some nice downhills and flat sections and is not too bad. There is a steep little hill near the end of the loop that will sting, but it is not very long. The last section to the road out of the transition area is a climb, but it is not too bad. I felt I could spin up that climb at a decent cadene.

The road conditions were very good generally. Pretty good pavement for most of the course. Plus the views are incredible.

The key to the bike is pacing. Do not go out too hard on that first loop, you will pay for it big time. Err on the conservative side on that first lap.

The hardest part of the run for me was the first hill that was the left turn off of Table Rocks Trail. It is a steep uphill and I did not shake off the heavy feel of the "biking legs" yet. You need to gut it through the hills. Fortunately there are a couple of relatively flat sections (I think it was Cedar Trail and Bonticue (however not Bonticue Ascent)) where you can recover from some of the climbs. Unlike the hills on the bike, I found some of the hills on the run to be quite steep and they will put some hurt in you pretty quickly.

I understand you will be racing it "blind" but if you have the opportunity to at least drive the bike course before the race, I strongly suggest it.

The nice part is that the race is done in loops, so after one loop of the run and one of the bike, you will know what you have to look forward to again. ; -).

ML,

Dr. Mike had on a special kit for SOS. Probably some form of speed suit with low hydrodynamic drag.

The lead biker started in wave 1, Scott Gray of Jonestown, PA. He rode 1:22:53. Interestingly, the top 5 overall each had one of the top 5 bike splits. SOS is often spoken of as a runner's race, or a swimmer's race, but it seems you have to have the complete package and can't discount the opening leg. I rode 1:24:15, missing the bike prime. Alex Sherwood, the overall winner, rode 1:25:00 in wave 1 and Dr. Mike rode 1:25:07 in wave 7.

Alex actually gave a very moving speech when he accepted his award. He did, however, bust on everyone else as they got theirs.

The post race meal was AWESOME! The carbo recovery beverage of choice was a Honey Wheat beer. Given the setting, the weather and the company, it was such a great way to end the day.

As far as the SOS / AmZof prime, Dr. Mike and I decided to put those funds into the new club jersey production. Most AmZof racers can't make the SOS as well and the pool of potential winners is very limited. We thought it would be better to find a way to spread the little cash on hand in a way to benefit more athletes.

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2015 American Zofingen Du is May 17.
R.I.P. Chris Gleason

Good call about nixing the prime and going for the team kit instead. I'm totally down w/ that.
Any ETA on when to expect them? I can't wait to see 'em!

Sheesh, the bike splits were slow this year. Dr Mike and I (and T_D as well) all rode 1:23 last yr, and Keith S banged it out in a sick 1:20.

Honey wheat?? Nice. Man, they had Bud (or mebbe Bud Lite) last yr. Not that I was complaining, since "cold" and "free" are my 2 favorite kinds of beer. ;-)
That post-race spread at SOS is just EPIC. I've never felt more like I 'deserved' to strap the feedbag on like I did after SOS, and with that incredible gourmet spread, you just can't help yerself. In a good way.

Speaking of post-race feasts, is Main Street Bistro going to be at A-Z again this year? Doug and crew knocked it outta the park last year.


Hopefully SOS took a little starch outta Dr Mike, so mebbe I can edge him at the club race on Wed. If so, then I'll win the season series.

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float , hammer , and jog

ML,

As great as the SOS feast is, AmZof does not suffer from an inferiority complex when it comes to the post-race feed. Yes, I'm pleased to announce that Doug Thompson's Main Street Bistro will be back to tempt the fatigued runners as they pass through the Pavilion, then reward them when they cross the finish line.

As far as beer is concerned, AmZof takes backseat to no other race outside of Belgium, as Tommy Keegan's Keegan Ales is back on board.

The bike splits were slow, but not for want of trying. The wind was crazy yesterday as the storm left the region. There were cross headwinds pretty much throughout the course.

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2015 American Zofingen Du is May 17.
R.I.P. Chris Gleason

Nice work JM. Did Art Boyko take the swim prime?

Thank you very much for the description very useful.
I have done IMLP on a 23 @ the rear & I survived fine (mind you I did not know better at the time), so I should be able to survive with a 27.

I was hoping to arrive the Friday to ride one loop but that would not be possible.

Fred.

Thanks, TD. No, Art was 2nd fastest in Awosting, in 22:49. Ed Stoner of Gardiner was fastest for all 3 swims, and smoked Awosting in an insane 19:56. However, Art was much more well rounded and placed 11th overall in 4:55:13.

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2015 American Zofingen Du is May 17.
R.I.P. Chris Gleason

I did the dumbest thing!
listened to your advice (-:

So I got the secret weapon for AZ
Thanks ML

Thom

Ps reach the beach Friday

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Slowtwitch bitchist place on planet earth

Well, Ed was likely the only one who had a full wettie, so that's part of it. And yes, he is a gifted swimmer, altho he does kinda sandbag the bike and the runs so that he can crush the swim splits. I guess that floats his boat (bad pun intended).

Sheesh, Art just keeps getting faster and faster overall. Which is just insane for a dude as big as he is.


Main Street Bistro + Keegan Ales ='s ML is a very happy camper!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ;-)
AWESOME.

Gonna have the bagpiper again this year too? That was wicked cool.

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float , hammer , and jog

What's going on with the people driving these days. Yesterday, Sunday morning the majority of the cars on the SOS race course where just out of control. Speeding by bikers and generally looking all pissed off. It wasn't even a full moon. Maybe it was these rock climbers heading to the Gunks to belay each other. One other thing it's a shame what these climbers are doing to this beautiful area. All I smelled along the climbing area was human feces. Truly disturbing.

Beer? That weapon is not much of a secret anywhere I'm involved. : )
I hope it works as well for you as it has for me.


Smitty - human feces, eh? You must have a much more sensitive schnozola than I do, I didn't notice anything of the sort, and we went by the Gunks 2x on Sunday am. Where specifically did this malodorous affront to your olfactory nerves occur? I'm pretty familiar w/ the area, being one of those annoying climbers of which you speak with such obvious envy and reverence.
There were a handful of cars that were a bit annoying, but otherwise it was just another ride in the Hudson Valley if ya ask me.

Did somebody pee in yer Wheaties? Mister Monthly paying you a visit? Maybe you just need a hug.
(((((((kjsmitty))))))) there, all better now. ;-)

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float , hammer , and jog

The smell was up along the path below the cliffs where they hang. Truly disturbing how they are destroying this beautiful area. Soon the management at Mohonk will put an end to this hopefully. This was happening up on Mount Whitney until the rangers enforced bagging it out. AZ bike course has to be one of the hardest in the Country. I do have to try the World's Toughfest Half Ironman in Auburn, Ca. Maybe someone who is good with PC software can create a similar interactive link as the WTHalf. See this link: http://www.onemillionrevolutions.org/maps/trial.php

It's my time of the month to complain about rock climbers who disrespect the area, not all rock climbers including yourself which you refer to. Ran into a group doing hill repeats on Godzilla and they weren't defacating in the Mohonk preserve like the rock climbing creatures.

http://www.auburntriathlon.com/...ongcourseindex.shtml

http://www.onemillionrevolutions.org/...e.php?segmentID=1424

Get better soon. Also watch for deer on the way down from the Mohonk entrance, especially race day morning.

I'll call the piper and see if he's available. I'd better start riding and running hills or I'll be paying the piper in more ways than one.

Art has certainly progressed from a swim ace to an actual triathlete.

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2015 American Zofingen Du is May 17.
R.I.P. Chris Gleason