AmZof has been the Sunday after Mother's Day (and before Memorial Day weekend) since 2009, the first year it was held in the Spring, instead of October.

Mine was one of the dissenting votes; I wanted to keep it in October, but was overruled.

See you in 2020! We'll leave the light on for ya...

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float , hammer , and jog

Yeah, we had to move our date out so as to not conflict with other events in town. Can't win 'em all...

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Editor-in-Chief, Slowtwitch.com | Twitter

Random bump.

Rode the bike course again yesterday, it's in pretty decent shape, for the most part.
The 2 sections where it's a little chewed up are both parts where you're generally not going mach schnell, and can avoid them by either taking the lane, and/or staying well onto the shoulder.

I'm looking forward to when there's no sand and grit on the roads, to really enjoy the descents.

PS - this weather blows.
High 30's and rain is the worst.

That said, I'm heading out for a run shortly. Builds character.

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float , hammer , and jog

The Minnewaska Lodge is a good balance of location, price, and not nasty. It is a stone throw away from the bike course.

^ x2, and good cookies too.

yeah, that place was sketchy (at best!)
@JW - if you come from MN, you can stay with me before & after, me, you and Boer could get an AirBnB near the course like a bunch of us did last year. I will even go LC. I need an excuse to bail on the stoopid NYGF I got talked into!

I'll ping Tom Ganz and suggest he add a link to local lodging options.

That said, I'd just hit up Trip Advisor or Kayak for hotel info, and/or AirBNB and HomeAway for other rental options.

I know a bunch of racers often get a nice local house for the entire weekend, bring their families up, and make a whole long weekend out of it.
There's TONS of non race-related stuff for SO's and families to do in and around the area.

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float , hammer , and jog

BUMP. Spring (Farm) AHEAD!!!

Only 10 weeks to go 'til AmZof 2019!

Yes, you should be very, very afraid.

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float , hammer , and jog

BUMP.

Almost April Fools Day - which means that AmZof is only 7 weeks away.

The roads are in pretty decent shape, and the area trails are drying out (for the moment - you know what they say about April Showers...)

I haven't been over to the Spring Farm trails yet, but once I do, I'll report back on conditions.
One thing I can assure you - the hills are all still there.

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float , hammer , and jog

I got 2 rides in during March...totally ready!

You’re golden.

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float , hammer , and jog

By the time you get to the third run lap, the accumulated fitness you gained from the first two run laps with the easy spin between kicks in and you'll feel great.

He is signed up for LC

April fools!

Ah, I'm told it's just a long, catered training day anyway, so what's the worst that could happen? ;-)

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float , hammer , and jog

I am doing the midcourse. Dig the funky setup with the run-bike-run-bike-run order.

Probably will dig it less when doing it though...

See you for the "first group to the beer" division. Pneumonia has kinda' screwed everything for the last handful of weeks.

F1 format is wicked cool, and very unique.

However - it also means you need to prep for T3 & T4, including whatever fluids & fuel you want for B2, and whether you care if that stuff stays cool or not.
Even if you plan to only use one pair of shoes for all 3 run segments, it's wise to have another pair handy, just in case my username happens.

The 2nd lap of the bike, feels much like the 3rd bike lap of LC.
And that 3rd run definitely feels like about lap 2 of the LC run course.
Lap 3 of LC run course it its own special demon.

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float , hammer , and jog

Great Intel.

I was thinking about bringing two pairs of shoes. Racing trail runners and then my plush and cushy Hoka Clifton's. Good call.

Also, good point on keeping the liquids in a coolers.

I didn't see it in the original AmZof website - what is the elevation gain per loop on the bike, per loop on the run? I am getting the feeling this is going to be much longer than my typical 4.30 - 4.35 for a flat course HIM...

Ah, that's a bummer Brett. Sorry to hear it.

We need SOMEBODY to step up and end the reign of terror that Rich Burke has had on the GCG field since 2012.
Wish I was the guy to do it, but while my training is lightyears better than last season, I'm still way behind where I was from back in the day, when I was actually competitive at Middle Distance.

I'm hoping Baliman and/or Jim Stafford can be talked into taking on Rich - both those guys have been killing it all winter.
I am not above bribrery - I'll offer either (or both) of those dudes a 6-pack of their favorite brewed elixir to race GCG.
And a 12-pack if they win.

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float , hammer , and jog

Here's some more F1 intel. I've found AmZof a great course for wearing cycling gloves - on the run. Because as my legs get more fatigued I seem prone to tripping and it's nice to have the hand protection in that moment.

Rough elevation gain: ~800 ft per run lap, ~2800 ft per bike lap.
In other words, total gain per course:
CWD: ~4400 ft
F1: ~8000
LC: ~11,600 ft.

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To breathe, to feel, to know I'm alive.

Ouch!

Are the bike (and run) climbs punchy? Ie steep and short (what I find here in Westchester county / Greenwich)? Or longer, more sustained, and less steep (what I am more accustomed to in Europe)?

Time to see what best bike split will say about time vs watts on the course...

Steep and long.

D - All of the above.

The run is more the punchy kind.
Bike has both. Often in the same climb.

It’s close enough to Westchester that you may want to come up for a recon mission.

Prior to becoming a true local, I used to live in Garrison. And I would go up at least 1-2x each year to ride & run on the course, prior to the race.
Those recon outings were a big part of the success I’ve had racing AmZof over the years.

... except that first year, when none of us knew WTF to expect.
Rappstar was scarred for life - he’s never come back. 😉

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float , hammer , and jog

Fri am BUMP!

I did a recon mission on the AmZof run course yesterday am, on my MTB.
Which was interesting, since those hills are even more brutal when you've got a bike going up them.
I had to hike-a-bike the 2nd half of the really steep climb near Bonticou crag, too steep & leafy to ride it clean.

Run course overall in very good shape.
All the hills are right where we left them.
A bit leafy in several spots, moreso than I would have expected.

The wet section down by the ranger station/entrance area is still wet - does that EVER dry out??
The first wet section in the field has a bridge going across most of it, the rest was mostly frozen, but it won't be that way in May.

The views from the Pavilion are still as spectacular as ever.

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float , hammer , and jog