I can't let it end. Here is an account of my fantasmagorical journey through the gunks on Sunday:
On Sunday, I ventured up to New Paltz to attempt the daunting Long Course of the American Zofingen Race. 5 mile trail run, 84 mile bike, 15 mile run. This is easily the hardest race I've ever done. However, it was my favorite and I would not trade one of those painful steps in the last 2 plus hours for anything. The RD and race organizers were phenominal. THis race still has that grass roots feel that I am always searching for. Venue was perfect-how can you go wrong in the beautiful Shawangunks, weather was perfect-, and post race food and Keegan's beer was off the hook.
First, let me say that I underestimated the ferocity of this course and it came back to bite me over and over again. In a word---BRUTAL.
Things started off bad Sunday morning, I woke up at 3:30 a.m. with a blasting headache, slight fever and sinus infection. In the car by 3:45 and off to New Paltz. Arrived at about 6:00a.m. and started setting up. Then realized that I lost my cell phone. A bit of panic and self loathing due to my carelessness but tried to put it out of my mind. Weather was incredible, blue skys and about 55 degrees at the start. as I wrote, this race has a real good feel to it--grass rootsy, great enthusiatic people, and incredible venue. The run featured four- five mile loops with three technical ascents on very rocky rooty single track. Indeed each loop featured 3,000 feet of climbing. The 3 loop 84 mile bike was not much better as far as climbing. Two very steep prolonged climbs with 23% to 25% inclines. Not for the faint hearted.
I must admit that this course was in my head so I decided to go out easy. First 3/4 mile of the run was fairly benign. Across some open fields and up some minor hills. Then bang straight up single track. Ran/shuffled the best I could up this section-got to the top and turned onto a nice, if not a bit rocky, cinder path. Slight downhill so I turned it up a bit. Then the next technical ascent. Tried to run but was moving slow. Back on cinder path, put mostly downhill and a lot of breaking. 46 minutes for the first 5 mile run.
Onto the bike. First loop was tough both mentally and physically. Mentally because I kept thinking, during those long climbs, that I had to do it two more times. Bike was long ups and screaming descents with a few shorter flats were I spent my time in the aero bars. Seemed like you were always climbing. Got through first loop in what seemed like forever. Second loop was much better. Felt real good and did not mind the climbs. Third loop was grueling. The second long climb lasted forever. For all of you that are familiar with New Paltz, it is the climb up to Lake Minniwaska. Finally off the bike in 6:00 flat. I was a bit disappointed but knew I was a touch slow with all the climbing.
Into transition, sneakers on, chirped at some spectators, then tried to run. Legs were lead. I was stumbling around like some drunk bum being kicked out of his/her favorite gin mill. Sort of shuffled out of transition and off to the Bataan Death march. Ran to the first technical ascent, walked up as fast as I could, ran hard on the cinder road and tried to run up the next ascent. When I slowed, I felt absolutely horrendous. Light headed, mentally in a real dark place, legs, feet, back, shoulders, a$$---everything hurt at once. For the first time racing, quitting slipped into my mind. Told myself to get it straightened out. Man the F up. Looking deep down inside me at that moment I saw some real scary creepy crawlers trying to mug me out of this race. Ate a gu and trudged slowly up. Told myself that I was going to finish even if it got dark and they closed the course. Was in this bad place for the entire first loop--1:02-are you kidding me.
On the second loop things started to change and I started feeling better and really trying to run up the ascents. Felt woozy a few times but just kept pushing forward. My feet were on fire from all the roots and rocks. Second loop 1:03-now, at least, I was growing accustomed to these ridiculously slow loops.
Starting the third loop I looked at my watch and saw 8:57. I told myself that I had to finish under 10. Ran as hard and as much as I could. Unfortunately, I was just physically unable to run up the rocky steep ascents. Got to the 3.5 mark and had 12 minutes to go to stay under 10. I ran as fast as I could, falling twice on my face. Passed two guys that I had been sparing with all day. Did it 9:57.
At the beginning of the day, my goal was to go under 9. This beast of a course crushed me. It ate me up and spit me right out. Loved this race. Did a lot of introspection out in those hills. Saw some ugliness inside me and some strength. Out there alone, you really get to know a bit about yourself.
This is a phenomenal race. Incredible day. RD and race folks were very friendly and attended to the racers every need. Great volunteers. After the race they had kegs of Keegans Ale lined up. Legit! Now I am licking my wounds and wondering how I am going to get around that Harryman HIM track next Saturday. I am hurtin right now but hope things feel better tomorrow. Oh just to really bust my chops it took my 5.5 hours to get home with New York traffic. I was ready to scream in that car. Willl return to do this race again. The only fear I have is that it gets "discovered" by the bucket list crowd and loses its innocence and charm.
I heart AmZof RR’s! : )
Congrats on finishing LC, it’s a tremendous accomplishment.
Have “fun” at Harriman this weekend.
Thanks for sharing Derrick. I wrote up my RR for my coach yesterday and hesitated to post it publicly because it’s got more psychological self-disclosure than I would usually share with the world but… you were brave enough to do so, so I will too. I too feel like “I don’t want it to end” even though I have a pile of work on my desk that is calling my name!!!
To give a bit of perspective, I’m a 47 year old female. I can do a 1:43 stand-alone half marathon and a 1:14 stand-alone 40km cycling time trial. I can normally do my local duathlons in 4:45/km run + 30-32 km/h bike + 5:00/km run. I NEVER walk and I NEVER bonk and I NEVER cry in my regular races. I am almost always on the podium for my AG, whether there are 5 or 30 women in my AG, for running races and duathlons. I say these things to show that I am not a total duathlon newbie!
I would say I’m in quite good shape for this time of the season and my weight is within 5 lbs of my summer goal. I added 2 trail runs per week and 2 hilly bikes/hill video-trainer workouts to my training, for the past couple of weeks. I reviewed prior year Short Course results and thought I could maybe do 3:20 to 3:40 for this race if all went well. I drove in from Ontario on Friday with my girlfriend (11 hour drive including stops and an hour at the border crossing at Lewiston). We drove the bike course on Saturday so I had a good idea of what the climbs looked like, at least from the perspective of a car.
Total goal time 3hrs30min. Total actual time 4hrs13min. As ML said somewhere… take your best Oly/Int’l distance and multiply x 1.5 for AZ SC…not a bad benchmark as it turns out!
I was anticipating the tough hills on the bike course but when we drove the course, I was stunned at how long they were. This was exactly how SD (friend who has done Lake Placid) had described them to me, but to see them in person was breathtaking. I had my 50-34 and 12-27 installed, and even after seeing the hills, I still was confident that I could get up them (except for one very steep section) but did not know what my speed would be like. I was anticipating that the trail runs would be wide open and soft, and I did not think they would be extremely hilly. I was guessing rolling. (in retrospect, I don’t know where I got this idea from… I guess I was too busy asking questions about the bike course to ask specifics about the run!)
I took 1 gel/fluid before the race started. Run 1 headed out across a field then into deep woods. Within 6 minutes, I was on a hill so steep that I had to walk. Again, at 13 minutes, I was walking due to steepness. The reality of the run conditions had now set in. The uphills were so steep that not only did I have to walk them, I could feel the gravity weighing on my chest as I tried to walk uphill. My heart rate was very high in those points. The roots and rocks were everywhere. I was very cautious about tripping. Ahead and behind me, I would hear grunts and then would see a person trip and roll down a hill! I would run whenever I could. Occasionally we would get to a carriage trail and I would run with long strides to try to make up time. It was a figure 8 run with an aid station in the middle, ie we hit that at 2miles and 4 miles. I took Heed fluid the 1st time, then Heed & water the 2nd stop. I then finished the final mile, which was open through a pasture. I felt I could have gone a bit faster in Run 1 but I was very cautious about pacing, knowing that I still had the unknown of the bike ahead of me. My goal was to finish the race so I would not let myself blow it on the first run.
I then headed out on the bike. After leaving transition, there was about ½ mile of downhill on dirt/gravel. That was tricky to stay under control on. Then we rode out of that area on flat paved road and turned left onto the loop. Dave R said to me before the start, do not panic on the first climb as it is very long and steep but not all the climbs are that big. That was great advice because that first hill was SO long that it was very discouraging. It was at least 10 minutes of climbing at 9km/h. I was into my 34-27 very early and stayed there. I passed several people on that hill. One woman who had passed me on the lower part of the hill was stopped further up at the side of the road. I asked if she was ok, and she said, yup, just resting. I have no idea how she would get back onto her bike, clipped in and rolling again with that steepness!
The backside of that hill was very long and steep. I don’t usually brake on downhills in races but I had to on these ones as they were very twisting and blind, and the roads were open to traffic (although there was not much traffic at all). I got a wobble on some of the downhills, which I am not sure was a speed wobble (have never had before, and would not expect to have it on my Litespeed), or if I was having a problem controlling my 404s with the speed & gusty winds). I was expecting the bike to be totally up and down as per the course profile drawing, but there were actually some flats and false flats where I could feed. Unfortunately they were mostly pretty gusty so I rarely was able to get above 30km/h. I had some familiarity of the course, but still got disoriented many times as to where I was in terms of being done as it all started to look the same with the trees and the hills. I climbed most of the hills at 9 km/h, in a sitting position. I just stood occasionally for a change of position to the leg muscles. Several times I had to say out loud to myself at the base of climbs, I CAN DO THIS.
The pack was very spread out by this point and I was only caught/passed by about 10 of the fast long/medium course guys, just due to where everyone was on the course, meaning I spent almost the whole race by myself which was tough psychologically over four hours but also good in a challenging way. I did not get tempted to chase anyone else which could have caused me to blow up. I just wanted to finish. There wasn’t much position changing in the SC after we got on the bike course. I took about 8 salt/electrolyte tabs on the bike. No cramping or even twinges, so the preventive salt intake worked, phew! (One of the CMM staff advised this the day before in the store, so I made sure I did that!)
I took a gel at 5 minutes on the bike, again at 44 minutes and again at 90 minutes. That was the 3 gels that I had, gone. I thought that 3 would be more than enough but it was not. I then grabbed another gel from an aid station, at 30 km/h! I got quite bonky and emotional around 2 hours on the bike, so I ate the 4th gel then. When I came around the final curve and saw and heard Lucy (John’s wife) and the other volunteers, I felt like I was coming back into civilization from the forest and started to cry a bit (wtf???)! I finally came in off the road and rode back UP the steep gravel road to transition.
I racked my bike and dumped all the empty gel packets and salt container out of my tri top. I put another 2 salt tabs in my mouth and got ready to run. I took the hand bottle and my puffer. I was really spacey at this point. We had to run up and into the pavilion, as that is where all the food was. The volunteers yelled at me to take all the food I needed but I could not see anything that would help me. Obviously my logic wasn’t working at this point as any and all of the things there would have helped me! I couldn’t see or hear my friend Kathy who was volunteering, and I felt really sad that she had apparently wandered away from the pavilion. She told me later that she was right at the food table, in front of me, encouraging me!
I ran out of the pavilion and through the field but then had to walk immediately when I hit the uphill trails. I drank my whole hand bottle. I got to the aid station at mile 2 and asked the volunteers to refill my bottle as I couldn’t manage the dexterity to get the top off of it. I drank a cup of Heed and cup of water. I took another gel and 2 salt/elec tabs. I had to ask the volunteers where I came from and where to go to as I couldn’t remember what direction I had come from 2 minutes prior! I did the next 2 miles and then came back to the aid station. They said I looked much better at that point, which I did feel. I knew I only had 1 mile to go then. The last mile was wide open, then a tough narrow/uphill trail part where you were above the pavilion and could hear everyone talking and laughing below (that was tough!!!) then into heavy woods again. At the top of the last trail uphill, I came upon a hiking couple and the woman said to me, " You’re almost done, there’s nothing but the Glory left now!" I promptly burst into sobbing tears. I then ran with long strides through the paths and out into the pasture and up the hill to the pavilion. We had to go up the final 3 steps of the pavilion to cross the timing mat which was crazy! I finished feeling totally spaced out. I don’t really remember much afterwards for about an hour, other than I ate and drank a lot (non-booze) then went over to my bike in transition and laid down on the grass to call home, and almost fell asleep. **
A while later they announced SC awards and it turns out I got a prize, so I went up to get my beer stein and then filled it about 1/3 with beer. I felt the buzz very fast!**** I ate a lot of veggie sandwiches and salty chips. I took my stuff back to my car in about 3 trips and had to take a rest in the car each time. The whole thing felt very surreal. Actually it still does! I can’t believe I actually finished the race, now that I know how hard it was!**
Future AmZofs: **I will never do the long course (5m/84m/15m). There is no way I will ever be able to get fast enough to finish that in the daylight. I would be out on the course absolutely alone which would be psychologically brutal.****I might consider the F1-medium course RBRBR for my 50th birthday (in 2013) but only if I could finish it in a reasonable time.Now that I know what the run and bike are like, I can plan this as a goal race and train specifically for those conditions. With that knowledge, I will be able to work on my pacing and nutrition throughout the race so that I do not bonk like that next time.
** I absolutely loved this race. The beauty of the course was breathtaking, both on the road and in the trails. The openness/emptiness of the roads let me be comfortable on the steep downhills. Between the uphills, downhills and the feed zones, it felt like my own personal Tour de France! The camaraderie between all levels of racers was unbelievable. I think the guys were especially supportive of any women who tried this race. Even the fastest long course guys each made the effort to say something encouraging to me as they passed me on their 84 mile ride. Because I had to dig so hard to get through this, it truly was a spiritual racing experience and I feel that I have progressed to a higher level in my understanding of myself in racing situations. It was a very internal, personal journey out there and I can’t wait to prepare for and do it again next year!
Great RR’s. Thanks to both of you for sharing.
I’m more convinced now than ever that I’ll continue my annual rite of spring passage, Harriman. It’s just enough suffering for me.
I used to feel lucky that I got into SOS this year. Now i’m not so sure 
Those race reports really capture the essence of the race. Congratulations to Sevenride on conquering the long course and congratulations to Cassie for perservering on the short course. You should both feel great about your accomplishments. I remember the overwhelming rollercoaster of emotions, pain and exhaustion I felt the first time I did the race. It is nice to read about that shared experience from fellow racers.
As a 2x long course finisher and also having done the short course and the middle distance, I can say, without hesitation, that no matter what distance you do at AZ, that race is tough and completing any of the distances is a nice accomplishment.
Now that you have raced American Zofingen, every other race will seem easy. Congratulations you are both part of an elite fraternity of AZ finishers.
Great stuff. I really enjoyed it. Sometimes during those low dark moments of our short lives we actually live the most. I remember being partially buried under the debris of the south tower of the World Trade Center as a first responder thinking I will either die here or pull myself together and find my way to safety. That same feeling occurred to me, albeit to a much lesser extent, out on that run course. THe memory of 9/11 and of AmZof are both clearly etched in my mind forever. I could not be happier. Congrats, you did great out there and learned how truly gritty you are. Hope to meet you next year.
thanks for the RR 
like ML said I heart these too.
Great stuff. I really enjoyed it. Sometimes during those low dark moments of our short lives we actually live the most. I remember being partially buried under the debris of the south tower of the World Trade Center as a first responder thinking I will either die here or pull myself together and find my way to safety. That same feeling occurred to me, albeit to a much lesser extent, out on that run course. THe memory of 9/11 and of AmZof are both clearly etched in my mind forever. I could not be happier. Congrats, you did great out there and learned how truly gritty you are. Hope to meet you next year.
wow, I don’t know what to say, on so many levels… thanks…
Now that you have raced American Zofingen, every other race will seem easy. Congratulations you are both part of an elite fraternity of AZ finishers.
Cool! Thanks!
Nice RR and great meeting you.
I will certainly be back at AZ. So hard, so much fun. I also do not see the LC in my future. I just really do not think that I wan’t to do that to myself.
Really need another name for the SC, makes it sound far too easy when there is nothing short or easy about it.
Cathy, when I saw you come in on the first run, confronted by a mix of surprise and fatigue, I could only begin to imagine the mental challenge the course had in store. 2 hours later, seeing the fight in your eyes and strength in your body, it made me overwhelmingly happy to be a first-hand witness to your courage. To put it simply, I was proud of you. So thanks for that
Also, awesome Cosmo! It got me so tipsy, I was worried about making bad decisions with Chris G!
/looks at Chris G
//winks
Really need another name for the SC, makes it sound far too easy when there is nothing short or easy about it.
yup, probably… “Canadian Girl Race” is fine with me cuz I iz one… but probably not ok with the other 54 participants 
Using both canadian and girls in that context is redundant
.
Cathy, when I saw you come in on the first run
oh dear… I just had a repressed memory come back to me… I yelled at you in T1 for not telling me the whole truth about the AZ running trails, didn’t I???
Sorry about that, lol!
Using both canadian and girls in that context is redundant
What is redundent is Monsieur Roche Junior winking at you…
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa305/canadianbeancounter/April2010059.jpg
Using both canadian and girls in that context is redundant
What is redundent is Monsieur Roche Junior winking at you…
http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa305/canadianbeancounter/April2010059.jpg
The only thing wrong with either of those drinks was that one was warm. As for young Master Roche, I am pretty sure that he and ML are exclusive
Also, awesome Cosmo! It got me so tipsy, I was worried about making bad decisions with Chris G!
/looks at Chris G
//winks
There are no bad decisions with Chris G. There are only less good ones.
Awesome reports! A lot of self discovery going on out there (me too)… Amazing what the mind can do- sometimes a bit of a battle! Maybe I will share an rr soon as well.
Two questions…
Was there really ~3000’ climb per loop of the run, or was it ~3000’ for the total 20mi? I was out of it enough that I could believe either.
And secondly, were the two aid stations actually one and the same?? I really thought they were different. My brain was not functioning well mid-race but I recall thinking a couple of the gals must have been twins!
It’s just one aid station, that you hit 2x per run loop.
FWIW, one of the volunteers at that run aid station is a multiple World Champion in her AG (60-64 - no, I’m not kidding, she looks at least 10 years younger too).
It’s just one aid station, that you hit 2x per run loop.
Hahaha, thanks for the clarification. I was clearly processing things well!