Oh, snap! One of the EN LC racers took out my Mohonk descent KOM - by :01!! Damn.
He's a big dude, and did it on the 2nd lap of LC bike.

I only hit 53 per Strava, 53.5 per Joule. Having to pull up to pass a car halfway down the straightaway put a crimp in my aero action.
It was quite sphincter-tightening when I got to the side of him, and a car was coming *up* too, so I ended up right on the double-yellow, between the 2 of them.
Think narrow thoughts!!

@Denali - great day, Doug! You looked strong every time I saw you out there.
Tell Stover that if he wants to come back East and play again, that I'm his huckleberry.
Maybe having that as motivation will finally get my ass back in gear.

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float , hammer , and jog

Coming in on the trash talking here...

The big guy should setup prize money to take down Short Course Record. I think Mike is the closest because Dave Roche went 2:39.XX in 2009.


C'mon now - can't let a guy who raced it on a road bike and Mavic RYS wheels keep the record and make you all look silly.


And it's by 5 minutes...no one has even come close...



http://yellowjacketracing.com/...20Results%202008.pdf

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Follow me at http://www.justinjharris.wordpress.com

JH - where you been hiding?

Well, nothing stopping you from coming out and trying to improve upon your mark.

I guess the reason you have the record, is due to using a road bike.
We're all on tri bikes.
Obviously the lighter weight, better power transfer, and lateral stiffness (while still being vertically compliant) was the difference.

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float , hammer , and jog

@ML - Great seeing you. I don't know how you manage to run those splits off basically zero training. Wisdom of the woods!

I might've looked strong, but I certainly didn't feel it. I've always thought there was nothing worse than running the first mile off the bike... so it was a real treat doing it 2x.... after running 5 miles to start. I can say definitively that the AmZof pain builds at a logarithmic not linear rate. No need to walk down the subway stairs backwards today, but I did elbow aside a 75-year old lady for a seat on the train muttering, "Move aside lady, you didn't do AmZof yesterday... that seat is MINE."

Message has been relayed to Stover. Maybe I can get both of you to man up to CG F1 next year...

My first attempt at AmZof yesterday. It definately lived up to the hype. Only made it to 49.8 on the descent but I am 140 lb on a heavy day. I am a 4+ w/kg guy but I was wishing for more gears despite running a 50/28. By 2 miles into the first run I was glad I wimped out and moved down to the short course. Took a nice fall with a mile left in the last run and really did not want to bother getting up.

It must be muscle memory. It certainly isn't fitness these days.

I know the course ridiculously well - 4x LC, 4x F1, 1x CWD, plus another maybe 15-20 recon bike laps, plus maybe another 8 run laps = ML can go "fast" by using all his trickery and experience there.

And as I've said before, "AmZof is where open run speed goes to die."
(Maybe next year's T-shirt motto?)
Lots of waaaay more talented open runners than me have struggled mightily there.

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float , hammer , and jog

Congrats to all the finishers.

1 hour run splits for the LC'ers??? Someone f*cked with the signs again? Who does that???
Glad JM was able to rectify for everyone else. Not sure how he pulled that off. Kudos to him.
Best kilt wearing RD in the business ;)

Missed it, but plan on a 2015 return. It'll rain, guaranteed ;)

Got to agree with you on the open run speed thing. I was the guy next to you on the racks. I have plenty of run speed but the bad winter and wet spring keep me on the treadmill way too much and I was dreadfully underprepared to run those trails. My cardio was fine but my quads were already getting trashed a couple miles in. I had to back off to prevent a complete collapse later on.

"Welcome to the AmZof Anonymous self-hurt group. I'm Murphy'sLaw, and I have been an AmZof lemming for 10 years."

"HI MURPHY!!!"

There is no 12-step program here.
We have less steps than that - the ones that lead into the Pavillion.
That is your only salvation.

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float , hammer , and jog

Trickery and experience... like being smart enough not to wear racing flats.

Um, yeah. Stuff like that.

I had trail racing 'flats' on for run 1. Inov-8 X-talon 190's.
6.5 ounces of awesomeness. And insane traction.

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float , hammer , and jog

Sorry we didn't see you there, but that trophy was looking pretty bland with only one name on it! I'll have a race report in a couple days, but it was basically another realization how freaking hard it is (for me) to put together a really well-paced effort from start to finish.

you went barefoot for run 2? was that the smell in the pavillion when I set off for my run leg?

Many thanks to the head carnie JM for hosting and all the awesome volunteers. Roped in by CeeCee four years back to take a hit of the crack pipe known as AmZof....I've returned every year. Funny how the Canadians throw gas on the fire and pull a no-show every other year. If my math is correct, it will rain to beat the band next year as the Canadians load up in transition with their chariots. Look fwd to it!

Thx again for the GCG "scholarship"/drinking funds for E.Dot.

I told Jenny about your streak of luck with that #, and she was not at all surprised, and heartily approves!

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float , hammer , and jog

2nd pair of trail shoes, ya chucklehead.

Little beefier w/ more protection underfoot, as I'm a LOT less nimble running off the bike.

The smell was probably KAlber - doode reeked on ice when he got done.
:-p

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float , hammer , and jog

I can neither confirm nor deny that.

ok...I can't deny that.

Oh, that was you! I assumed it was ML when we were talking (shod or unshod). BTW, sorry I didn't do a proper introduction - I'm the dude who also got caught cyclocrossing up Juniper Hill Swamp at Battenkill.

3rd AmZof in a row and best weather so far. Went for the CWD division this year and am definitely more sore than the past two after doing GCG. My open run speed didn't totally die on the trails as advertised, but it suffered. My biking, better knowing I only had to do one loop, still suffered on those climbs. Garmin lost signal on the descent, so can't even see the segment on my ride...damn. A bit of a log jam in my AG at places 8, 9, 10, and 11 (15 seconds between 2nd, 3rd, and 4th)...but was able to go home with a small stein...good enough, it holds a 12 oz. bottle of beer! I was kind of missing doing middle distance when they went off, but I could not have been more happy when I smelled the grill going 3ish miles in on the second run.

As far as beer, enjoyed some Torpedos and a Sam Adams. One of the more tragic moments of the day, saw the bottom give on a sixer of Bells Two Hearted Ale and one bottle paid the ultimate price...a sacrifice to the course I suppose. Good talking to many of you and see you next year. Will it be short or middle...that is the question...

I wish I wasn't so spaced out after I finished, I never saw you guys come across. That musta been awesome with all 3 of you finishing so close together!
Glad you still snagged a mug. Congrats!


Indeed. I am VERY thankful I went CWD this year - dunno if I could have even completed the GCG this time around, much less "competed".
But - I think I'm better suited for the F1. I don't have the top-end speed of the really fast guys, so when a young, fast sub-2:40 doode shows up (like the last 2 years), there's no way I could ever beat that.

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float , hammer , and jog

Bump for the Tues am crowd!

OK AmZof lemmings - anybody else got some tales of woe (or glory?) to share?
How about some race reports?
Noobs, veterans, Canadian Womens (did we even have any of those this year?) - let's hear about your day!

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float , hammer , and jog

2nd year in a row for the long course- I guess the free 3 mile add on was the consolation prize for having to endure such good weather. I came in a few pounds heavier than last year but lost them rather quickly once the bike leg started, the humidity had me soaked. Volunteers were great and a really cool vibe to the whole day. The aid station ran out of Red Bull on my last loop- the price of being slow. The traffic on the way home to Queens had my legs in revolt and I found myself questioning why we do this to ourselves but this morning has me looking forward to next year- I guess lemming is the right term.

Here's an CWD woe story.

Up to the week before the race, I was feeling great, 5 races (1 tri, 2 du, 1-10k, 1 -5k) into the season and all have been awesome. (for me)

Sh_t hits the fan the week before the race. Traveling, other commitments, lots of hours at work and very delayed flight home Friday. Basically, I'm spent mentally.

Saturday I decided to be a DNS, but a friend called and said - lets ride up together. Ok - back at it.

Sunday morning - a comedy of errors. Running a bit late to get my friend and my truck won't start, no big deal, call him to meet me and we will take my Jeep. Load up the Jeep and its on E. Fortunately a can of gas gets us to the race at 6:58. Not the best start to the morning.

Race goes off fine and I'm leading for a mile. That was a blast - I'd highly recommend it to every-one. Slowly fade, but in reality better people were passing me.

Bike starts off really well, up the hill, down the hill safely (all that really matters), but shortly after my powertap quits. Seems par for the week, so I keep pushing the hills and coasting down them. Beautiful view at the stone wall about mile 15.

"edit" - I almost hit a deer about mile 25 or 26. or he almost hit me....

Into T2 and out. Just past the bathrooms, feel light headed and just not well. Stop, think about getting lost in the woods or walking back for a burger. The burger wins and shortly after I feel great. Go figure.

Drive home - traffic for a graduation and then a ton of traffic close to home.

It was a great day to hang out, cheer people on, see some great performances and get in a good workout.

So, on to 2015 and hope for a better "prep" week.

Any-one else notice a 60 year old dropping a 30'th place finish. Thats impressive.

2013 My first DNS EVER: Zofingen
2014 My first DNF EVER: Zofingen

I took the first run as easy as I could and then I bike as easy as I could too... compact + 28 most 99% most of the time.

1 loop was ok
2 loop after the first aid station I knew I was in for a long day
3 loop cramps in my quad and a STUPID cramp on my right adductor that almost took me off the bike during the steepest climb coming back to T2.

Sat on the ground and out nowhere I started to getting dress to run but after I went pass the parking lot I knew it wasn't meant to be so I didn't want to wreck my body more than it was.

Notes:
1. Some of you guys passed my on the downhills like mad men... uffff chapeau!!!
2. Almost 4 road kills
3. During the last loop I saw the sign for "Deer Crossing" and I actually wished for a deer to hit me and end my misery lol


I will be back... This one is going to sting for awhile!

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The entire event (IM) is like "death by 1000 cuts" and the best race is minimizing all those cuts and losing less blood than the other guy. - Dev

RR will be coming. I've got a 3hr conference call to survive today!