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<p>This weekend brought the Pumpkinman Sprint and Half-iron races to beautiful Berwick, Maine.</p>
<p>A more bucolic seting and well-organized races does not exist.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Saturday was the sprint race. I had the unusual position as a spectator while my wife raced. I watched Kyle do well, looked for Dougie but did not see him. My wife finished well, although 5th in AG was 44th female overall and had a good bike and run split. She still needs to learn to deal with the full-contact swims. After the race, chatted with Gatorgirl and her NorthWoods son.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sunday was my race. The AM was cool, about 52 degrees. My wife was volunteering, so we arrived early. I made my way to tranisition and chatted with a few friends from the race circut. The great thing about racing is that you meet so many really nice people, and see them again and again. The tough thing was that this was a big race, it attracts the best. So, I knew today would be a tough day, But, my goal was sub 5 hrs, so I kept that in mind. Sub 5 had been my goal all year, but I ran 4:58 at the Vermont Half Journey 2 weeks ago, so that monkey was off my back. Today was to beat last year's time here of 5:03.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We arrived at the swim, and I was in the 3rd wave. It was a beach start, so at the command of go, many 40+ men ran through the weedy shore at aimed at the first bouy. It was WWE all the way there, and my goggles were displaced twice. But, I kept my cool, and the water opened up. It was a 2 lap swim, so a short run on the beach, and then a second lap. Swim time was slow 33:27, but ok. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After the swim is the hill challenge, a timed transition run up a 200 yd, steep hill, with prizes to the fastest. Great fun.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>T1 SUCKED. I couldn't get my feet out of the wetsuit for ~ a minute, my shoes came out of the buckles... 3:37 later I was off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The bike was 56 miles of rolling hills. Nothing to steep, but a lot of gear shifting. I felt very comfortable, chomping a gu block every 10 min. With the cool temps, hydration was never an issue, as I drank only about 30 oz on the entire ride. I managed to keep a reasonable pace, finishing just under 2:40 for ave speed 21 mph.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>T2 was much better. The temps were perfect for the run - 62 degrees and cloudy, a bit of a raw east wind that was good for cooling.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I went out on the run as I normally do, trying to ease into the first mile. Feeling like I was out for a walk and expecting 7:30 pace, I hit mile 1 in 7:00. I felt that 5 hrs was within reach, and I actually tried to slow down. The run course was fairly flat with a few rollers. it was out and back, with a 4 mile loop in the middle. I like the loops, because you can watch the elite, and the competition. I saw a few in my age group go by, so AG top 3 was not in the cards today. OK, I told myself, just go sub 5 and it doesn't matter. The miles clicked off, a constant stream of mostly ~ 7:10s. I ran along, high-fived a teamate, said hi to friends. It was fun. I felt more like I was out on a training run than a race. Cheryl, I did see you, a called to you (you were probably ~ mile 3 in your orange bandana), but you were so focused yo didn't reply. Turning the corner for the downhill finish, I was almost euphoric. I was smiling, wishing we could go out on another lap. I averaged 7:10 for the run (Garmin 13.41 miles - official 7:20 for 13.1, but course was long), finish in 4:54:19 for 54th OA, 5th in AG (winner was 4:44). Overall, very happy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After some shmoozing (I had a nice chat with Kyle), and a great post race feast, it was homeward bound. Overall, a great weekend of fun, racing, and great results.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And today, no real pains or aches, so a nice 1 hr swim in Walden to recover this AM (in the dark before work)</p>
<p>A more bucolic seting and well-organized races does not exist.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Saturday was the sprint race. I had the unusual position as a spectator while my wife raced. I watched Kyle do well, looked for Dougie but did not see him. My wife finished well, although 5th in AG was 44th female overall and had a good bike and run split. She still needs to learn to deal with the full-contact swims. After the race, chatted with Gatorgirl and her NorthWoods son.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sunday was my race. The AM was cool, about 52 degrees. My wife was volunteering, so we arrived early. I made my way to tranisition and chatted with a few friends from the race circut. The great thing about racing is that you meet so many really nice people, and see them again and again. The tough thing was that this was a big race, it attracts the best. So, I knew today would be a tough day, But, my goal was sub 5 hrs, so I kept that in mind. Sub 5 had been my goal all year, but I ran 4:58 at the Vermont Half Journey 2 weeks ago, so that monkey was off my back. Today was to beat last year's time here of 5:03.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>We arrived at the swim, and I was in the 3rd wave. It was a beach start, so at the command of go, many 40+ men ran through the weedy shore at aimed at the first bouy. It was WWE all the way there, and my goggles were displaced twice. But, I kept my cool, and the water opened up. It was a 2 lap swim, so a short run on the beach, and then a second lap. Swim time was slow 33:27, but ok. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After the swim is the hill challenge, a timed transition run up a 200 yd, steep hill, with prizes to the fastest. Great fun.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>T1 SUCKED. I couldn't get my feet out of the wetsuit for ~ a minute, my shoes came out of the buckles... 3:37 later I was off.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The bike was 56 miles of rolling hills. Nothing to steep, but a lot of gear shifting. I felt very comfortable, chomping a gu block every 10 min. With the cool temps, hydration was never an issue, as I drank only about 30 oz on the entire ride. I managed to keep a reasonable pace, finishing just under 2:40 for ave speed 21 mph.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>T2 was much better. The temps were perfect for the run - 62 degrees and cloudy, a bit of a raw east wind that was good for cooling.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I went out on the run as I normally do, trying to ease into the first mile. Feeling like I was out for a walk and expecting 7:30 pace, I hit mile 1 in 7:00. I felt that 5 hrs was within reach, and I actually tried to slow down. The run course was fairly flat with a few rollers. it was out and back, with a 4 mile loop in the middle. I like the loops, because you can watch the elite, and the competition. I saw a few in my age group go by, so AG top 3 was not in the cards today. OK, I told myself, just go sub 5 and it doesn't matter. The miles clicked off, a constant stream of mostly ~ 7:10s. I ran along, high-fived a teamate, said hi to friends. It was fun. I felt more like I was out on a training run than a race. Cheryl, I did see you, a called to you (you were probably ~ mile 3 in your orange bandana), but you were so focused yo didn't reply. Turning the corner for the downhill finish, I was almost euphoric. I was smiling, wishing we could go out on another lap. I averaged 7:10 for the run (Garmin 13.41 miles - official 7:20 for 13.1, but course was long), finish in 4:54:19 for 54th OA, 5th in AG (winner was 4:44). Overall, very happy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After some shmoozing (I had a nice chat with Kyle), and a great post race feast, it was homeward bound. Overall, a great weekend of fun, racing, and great results.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And today, no real pains or aches, so a nice 1 hr swim in Walden to recover this AM (in the dark before work)</p>
. LOL.</p>
