Mark Kaufman

SOS Triathlon (New Paltz, NY) – September 8, 2024

THIS was a race that I’ve been training for and dreading since November 2023: an 8-part triathlon. For months I’ve counted them out for incredulous listeners on two hands: Bike 30 miles. Then Run, Swim, Run, Swim, Run, Swim, Run. (It’s still a “triathlon” because it’s only three sports.) Running/tri buddy Kevin Carlsten had emailed and said “this sounds like something crazy that Mark would do. Wanna do it?” How could I resist?

SOS or “Survival of the Shawangunks” (pronounced “Sh’WAN-gunks”) takes place in the lakes and trails of “The Gunks”, mountains in New Paltz, around 100 miles north of New York City. Because the swim-runs are point to point, you have to carry your running shoes on the swims in the notoriously cold Lakes (Awosting, Minnewaska and Mohonk) before ascending to the Lookout Tower at Mohonk Preserve. For two months, I had practiced with my shoes tucked in under my shorts and behind my hamstrings.

Five weeks before the race I attended “SOS Boot Camp” — a collection of the nicest, craziest endurance athletes I’ve met — where we rode the bike course, ran most of the carriage trails, visited the swim-ins and swim-outs, and swam a bit in Lake Minnewaska. Warm in August, but that would change!

It was the cold that most concerned me. After only 45 minutes in a 74-degree pool, I’m shivering. The lakes would be between 68 and 58 degrees. So after meeting a woman at Boot Camp who had the same issue, I adopted her solution: I bought a swimrun wetsuit. (“Swimrun” is a sport in Sweden.) Running material in the short pants, neoprene on the chest and short sleeves, and additional “arm warmers” that really make the difference. On race day, I counted around 6 other people with wetsuits…

With Kevin Carlsten, full of pre-race optimism.

Bike: 30 miles. We lined up by age group (9 of us in the 60-64 men’s category), and took off down the first 25 miles of flats with some rolling hills (with 5 of my group shooting ahead…). I hit my 20-21 mph goal for the first 15 miles; was startled that we had to walk our bikes on the sidewalk around some construction; and the next 10 slowed down to 17ish mph; and then The Hill — 5+ miles of continuous up. 1:53 hours for 30 miles (15.4 mph, including that elevation) — a little slower than expected.

Transtion # 1 was sub-optimal for lack of mental preparation: I simply didn’t picture what it would be like to dump out my bag of running gear, throw in my bike gear, dump the bag again for my sunglasses clip-ons, throw gear in bag, dump out for something else, throw in gear again, PLUS the usual changing shoes. 5:34 for a transition! The good news: an opportunity for vast improvement…

Run # 1: 4.5 miles. Started comfortable, walked some of “Cardiac Hill” at Mile 2 (following the lead of another Old Guy who had done this 6 times before and had passed me on the bike), heard something clatter at Mile 4 but had all my gels (should I eat one?). And as I got to the water’s edge: realized my goggles had slipped out of my shirt. Ran back a little, asked if anyone had seen them, and this young guy (he was the only one in the 20-25 age group!) said he had a second pair and lent them to me. What a mensch!

Transition #2: Put on sleeves and wetsuit top, shoved in shoes and OFF WE GO! 2:32 minutes. Meh.

Swim #1: 1.1 miles across Lake Awosting. Water was 68 or 69 degrees, not too cold for most folks, but I was happy staying warm in the wetsuit. Although cramps started up in my hamstrings (Race Director Alex Sherwood at Boot Camp: “If you don’t cramp on this race, ask for your money back!”), I recognized the cramps were from looking up too high to sight and got them under control. Acknowledged in the middle how beautiful the water and the lake were (and that I was swimming!). Finished in 40:00 min. (2:06 min/100 yds.).

Transition #3: Got to the end (hurray!), pulled shoes out from behind legs in back of my shorts, another guy is laughing and grimacing with cramping so much he can’t stand up (a volunteer from the shore: “Don’t these guys know they have to get out of the water?”), I reach for my shoes floating away and dropped the goggles — never to be found again! To paraphrase Oscar Wilde in The Importance of Being Earnest: “To lose one pair of goggles is tragic. To lose two is simply careless!” Grabbed two Honey Sticker gels. (Saw a volunteer walking with a woman shivering in an aluminum foil blanket. There but for the grace of God go I…). T3 in 4:33 minutes. Ugh More room for improvement!

Run #2: 5.5 miles. Struggling to grab a UCAN energy gel from pocket in back of the wetsuit (trying to take them every hour, but so hard to pull them out), take off the sleeves, unzip and pull down the wetsuit…. Such a distraction, and not a great way to run. Pretty, but distracted by how I was going to swim across two more lakes without goggles…. Forgot to take salt tablets. Struggled to get wetsuit and sleeves back on, and probably should have taken more nutrition (stick with the plan, man!). 55:43 (10:18 min/mile). Not the 9-minute miles Coach Steve and I had planned.

Transition #4: No time wasted on goggles and getting glasses into the shoe. Simply get shoes into back of pants and… swim with glasses on! (My spare pair of “racing glasses” have cables that loop around my ears, and the swim cap over my ears kept them in place. Plus my sunglasses clip-ons hook tightly around the frames.). 1:03 minutes.

Swim #2: 0.5 miles. Sighting was a breeze! First of all, there’s a rope the entire length of Lake Minnewaska for this race; with every breath on my right side, I see that I haven’t wandered. Secondly, with my actual prescription glasses, the world above the water is exceptionally clear. Mild cramping in hamstrings — recognized it before it hit me, and relaxed through it. Felt solid, but took 18:45 minutes (2:08 min/100 yds.).

Transition #5: Got to the ledge where a race director was standing (“come right up to me!” The water was very deep except for that rock jutting out), sat and took shoes out. Uphill and on the trail = 1:26 minutes.

Run #3: 8 miles to the next swim. Again, struggle to get out of the wetsuit top and the sleeves (start it over, do the sleeves first!) and this is when the wheels fall off: I forget to eat until Mile 4 or 5. UCAN gel, then gel with caffeine, then another gel at a rest stop, but I’m behind on calories/carbs and despite the beautiful downhills for the first 3-4 miles (dropped a swimsuit sleeve, run back uphill to get it), so when I get to the flats I am slogging. Another runner recognizes me, we figure out it’s from the LItchfield Olympic tri last year and he is FAR too cheerful as he passes and drops me going up “Godzilla” at Mile 7 (which wasn’t so bad except for the fact that I’m bonking.). BUT: managed to remember to enjoy the beautiful dappled sunlight coming through the trees, to marvel at the groups rock climbing next to the trail, to be grateful for the ability to RUN and race. Finish in 1:24 (10:03 min/mile) — not the pace I had wanted, but I am surviving and grateful.

Transition #6: Got to get those darn shoes in back of the pants, walk over the fence, carefully walk down the steep, narrow dirt path, pick my way among the rocks, and start swimming. Again, no time wasted on those silly goggles. 1:49 minutes.

Swim # 3: Lake Mohonk is short and familiar — I’d been here for a family reunion 11 years ago— and sighting is easy with my glasses on, but my eyes are stinging, I have to admit. By this time, I’m not caring much about speed, and the shoes on top of hamstrings are discouraging me from kicking, and my arms are TIRED from swimming and stopping and swimming again… But the end is in sight! 0.5 miles (maybe; Garmin said it was shorter) in 14:33 (1:54 min/100 yds.) — apparently my fastest leg.

T-7 — almost there! Goggles? Who needs goggles?

Transition #7: Get shoes out from pants, get them on, up and out of the lake. 1:29 minutes.

Run #4: Up, up, up to the Lookout Tower! Felt solid, except for seeing so many racers and families who had finished walking DOWNHILL. (This is like seeing the people dressed as the Statue of Liberty passing you on the NYC Marathon…). Very steep, ran almost all of it (except for the huge rocky stairs). 7:03 for .7 miles (10:03 min/mile).

Got there and crossed the SURVIVOR LINE – “You. Are. A. Survivor!” Finished in 6:35:39 — 6/9 for AG, 103/211 OA (including the 25 DNFs, which included ultramarathoner Mike whom I had met at Boot Camp).

This was certainly harder than any Half Ironman “70.3” I’ve ever done (even though this was only 50.3 miles). I will probably try it again — can I do it without the wetsuit? That would remove a distraction, but I so hate the cold… I can be more disciplined about the nutrition. But overall it was beautiful and thrilling.

I survived. I had fun. I’ll be back.

Those hieroglyphics aren’t just for decoration: Bike. Swim. Run. Swim. Run. Swim. Run!

Hudson Valley 70.3 – June 29, 2024

Alpha Wins, the very small triathlon company that ran this event (not yet devoured by Ironman), organized this day of multi-sport races in Kingston, NY: sprint triathlon, Olympic distance, aquathlon, duathlon and the race I’d chosen, “Long Course”, a 70.3 distance (what we’d otherwise call a Half Ironman).

Swimming in Lake Williams, Kingston, NY – afternoon before the race

I stayed in Saugerties, thirty minutes away, with the wonderful Tom and Penny Kjellberg. Saturday morning, got up at 3:40, eat and drive to the site, parking next to a serious competitor I later learned was Juan. Rack my bike and see that … my torpedo water bottle is dripping. Continuously. No problem: I have duct tape for securing my ankle chip (having lost a chip during the swim in another race), and a neighboring racer’s electrical tape. And it mostly works; I won’t die of thirst out there in the wild.

The battered torpedo water bottle – patched up with high tech love and care

They announce that the lake water is 82 degrees — too warm for anyone to wear a wetsuit. I pull out my “skin suit” to go over my new tri suit — only to find that I had grabbed from my closet the old tri suit, instead. Oh, well. Warm up in the water for 10 minutes, getting my heart rate up (though you’d think this comedy of errors would have already done the trick).

THE RACE

Swim starts in the water, treading between the big yellow buoys, kinda relaxing, guys still chatting… Then GO. I shoot off on the first leg of the two loops that make up the 1.2-mile course, starting stronger than I’ve done before and feeling good up to the second buoy, when I start to feel the fatigue. I’m trying a new attitude: going hard and feeling tired doesn’t mean that I’m weak and will run out of gas. But I start the second loop with new doubts: “I’m almost the last guy on the course.” Start to flail a bit but calm down and back to smooth and strong, stretch more, feel the lats. At that long, last leg a guy passes me (dammit) but I am swimming my best, that’s all I can do. Coach Steve had predicted I’d finish in 41 minutes, so I’m pleased to finish in 39:35, a 1:52 pace. I assume I’m trailing behind the studs I had met the day before, and that I am fighting for 3rd place in my age group, at best.

Run barefoot over a bumpy dirt path and then, mercifully, grass. I sit down in T1 to put on socks and bike shoes, and suddenly Tom Andrews from Hastings starts to harangue me (“Why, it’s Mark Kaufman! Take your time, Mark. You want to get a donut?”); he and his son Sam are there, preparing to race the sprint. So I start the bike ride laughing.

Bike Route: 53.35 miles, 3,420 feet of elevation

Bike has a good start, but not for long. On this 56-mile ride, my goal is simply to have a consistently strong ride (rather than slowing down the second half). But the bursitis in my hips kicks — at 24 minutes, much earlier than normal. So, this ride is going to be painful. The hills are long and rolling, and I’m fighting to keep up the power between 180 and 200 watts, and wattage drops to 145 or 155 watts now and then, and my hips ache (too late to do what the PT therapist had suggested)…. And I realize I am carrying a lot of people with me, all of whom are nice enough in real life but who only give me negative advice in my head. ENOUGH. Have some discipline, focus on what’s ahead, push those thoughts away, push it away, push it away. The Ashokan Reservoir is beautiful, enjoy it, no rain, cool weather in the low 70s, what’s not to like?

The doubts resurface now and then, but I keep demanding discipline. (Push it away.) Bruce in my age group passes me, a younger Bib no. 4 passes me. (Let them go; I’m the only one riding this bike.) The goal is just to get there in one piece, pushing hard and will this wipe me out for the run? The 5-mile intervals aren’t close to the 19-20 mph I want. And I need to pee. Oh, well. Legs will cramp up if I stop for a bathroom break and I don’t want to squander whatever ranking I might have. And at almost the end, a glorious downhill, I tuck in and fly, aerodynamic (later learning that I reached over 45 mph). Catch up to a guy in a white shirt who says “I think this route is 2 or 3 miles short ,” and I’m delighted because there’s no other way I’d make the goal time Coach Steve had set for me. Guy in white zooms off, dropping me. Oh well, he has his own race to do. I GET there! And my results are better than I expected (helped by being only 54 miles): 3:01:24. (Coach Steve had predicted 3:01 hours; with accuracy like that, I’ll invest in wherever he crunches metrics!).

T2 is uneventful and quick: swap helmet for visor cap and put away the sunglasses, and change into my Fast Shoes.

Off we go, onto the Rail Trail and through the woods.. This is my strong suit. The 13.1-mile run is two loops of an out and back, which is kind of comforting: just take it 3ish miles at a time, “I’m halfway to halfway…”. Steve had predicted I’d do 8:30 minute/mile, based on my last 70.3. I start too fast – 8:12, 8:20 (yes, I know, I always do that. Shut up, Zander), then allow myself to look at the watch only once per mile and when the watch dings at the end of the mile. I’m working hard, that’s all I’m sure of. It’s a struggle to get up that loose gravel hill before the second turnaround, and that’s a lousy mile result — 8:50, 9:05 — and I’m stabbed with doubts again for a moment, then focus on the trees, the sunlight, and there’s Ziv, running the Olympic race! (I’m working too hard even to say “I thought you were injured and skipping this race!”) And Vadim from Irvington, shouting encouragement and taking my picture!

I’m struggling through every mile, one at a time, and I really need to pee; nature is not just calling, nature is shouting. But I realize on the second loop: everyone I pass is one person closer to my at least making 50% overall. And I pass Bruce in his colorful tri set. And I pass the young no. 4. And there’s Juan. And there’s the heavyset woman, smiling as she runs. And I even pass the Guy in White Shirt. So I count and I figure I’ve passed or am ahead of 24 people, one more and I’ll be in that top 50%… There’s that steep gravel hill but now it’s the LAST time and it’s downhill and around the corner and the Finish Line is closer than I thought and I’m DONE.

With Hastings-on-Hudson’s own, Ziv Abramowicz!

The net result: 5:37:24, over 30 minutes faster than Oceanside 70.3 in April. My doubts were unfounded: for the Swim, 41:14 (because official results included the run to T1), which is 1st of 5 for age group and 16/50 Over All (!). T1 in 1:39 – 1st for AG, 16/50 OA. The Ride officially is 3:03 (because it included walk/running over the dirt road in bicycle shoes until we reached T2…) – 17.7 mph average over the actual 54-mile course (not great) and dropped to 3 out of 5 for AG, 15/60 OA. (So, Bruce and Juan were ahead of me). T2 in 1:44 — 1st for AG, 6/50 OA. (At first, I think, “Who cares, it’s just transition…”)

And the Run, ah, the Run: 1:49:21, which means 8:20 min/mile (a lot faster than Steve’s 8:30 prediction) — 1st for AG and 8/50 OA (picking up two slots from the ride) … but even though 8th place in the run, 7/50 overall (picking up a slot from doing better transitions than the next guy)!

The Podium: with Juan Rivelo (who did Western Mass 70.3 two weeks before THIS race!) and Bruce Nussbaum (who cramped up after the bike ride and gave up the lead)

I really hadn’t intended to do this for the glory of the podium. But this was the best OA result I’ve had and the fastest 70.3 since 2017 (helped, no doubt, by a ride that was 2.5 miles shorter — but I’m also 7 years older now). I dug in hard aand though I had fun, the focus was keeping up the athletic pressure while slaying those demons. They’ll be back, and I’ll try to keep swatting them down, because this is the kind of fitness I want to sustain.

NYCRuns Brooklyn Half Marathon – April 28, 2024

I was reluctant to do this race: rain was predicted, and it was a logistical nightmare to drive in from the suburbs to Greenpoint; we were required to load into the race area between 5 and 6 am to start running at 7; and the finish line was in Prospect Park, 15 subway stops (or a 9-mile UBER ride) from the starting line where I’d park my car. But then the rain prediction evaporated, and temps were going to be in the low 50s; I managed to get to bed by 8:45 for a 3:30 a.m. wake-up; and…

Even though my pre-paid, reserved parking lot was blocked off by the police because of the race, I found a spot two blocks from the starting area. So a good start!

22,000 people signed up for this race! “The 3rd largest half marathon in the U.S.” My priority was to run by what felt good, but keep track of the time. I wanted to do better than Coach Steve’s estimated finish of 1:48 hours = 8:15 per mile “based on the available data.” Use that as a minimal acceptable limit, not as the best I could do.

Hurry up and wait. We went through security, gathered in a parking lot before going into the pre-assigned corrals…

Because I had left my Garmin in the car (rookie mistake!), I’d have to hit the lap button on my watch so I didn’t have a lot of data during each mile, only after passing each mile marker. But the lack of data was probably a good thing – less information to worry about.

Wave 1 is crowded, and folks are friendly (and young!) and I chatted with another triathlete wearing an Ironman 70.3 shirt, and it takes us almost 4 minutes to cross the starting line. Early on I meet another age grouper by the name of Andy (“What’s our pace? I left my Garmin in the car!” “That one was 8:13”), he sees my Philadelphia Marathon hat, asks if I’m from Phillie and says he’ll do his 11th Phillie Marathon this fall. I surge ahead, then he surges ahead, and I’m okay with being dropped: I am racing MY race, and Andy is clearly a Runner.

At Mile 3, I realize I’ve been running at around 8:00 min/mile, and decide that’s a nice goal. I run up to someone to comment on his shirt slogan, and realize the extra effort made my hamstring twinge, so I back off the pace. By Mile 5, I’m still at around 8:04s and my only concern is whether that’s sustainable, it’s starting to feel challenging, but I also don’t want to get slower, beating Coach Steve’s prediction has now become its own priority, competing with the “have fun” part.

I freak out a little at what I think is Mile 6 and my watch says “10:30” minutes, but I realize that’s the 10K (6.2 mile) marker, so I’m only a little slower. I’m breathing more deliberately to bring my heart rate under control; we’re about to start hitting the long hills and I don’t want to blow up. I have the discipline to follow my nutrition plan: at mile 6 or 7 or 1:00 hour, even though I don’t feel like it, I drink my flask of UCAN energy drink (feeling SO smart despite looking stupid with a water belt, as I never slowed down and jostled for a cup at the rest stations; instead, sipping every mile when I wanted, and still comfortable carrying a cell phone in the big pocket, in prep for that post-race UBER ride!) but I don’t want to give up the 8-minute goal, that’s what would define “Success,” and I realize: fearing failure is not a helpful thought, and we (the surging crowd of runners) get over that hill and the glory of downhill.

Still, at Mile 8 or 9 I’m anxious again that this is really starting to hurt.

Instead I focus on the extraordinary long, straight road crowded with runners, and the sun is beautiful, shining on the spring trees at the end of this vista, and there’s simply no room for the thoughts that make me anxious, yes this is getting tough but only 3 miles to go and I start to surge at Mile 11 and realize dammit this isn’t my last mile, there’s TWO more miles to go, and Andy (remember him?) is next to me and says “go for it”, and I’m quietly telling folks that I’m passing them (“on your left” like riding on the bike path) and with 1 ½ miles to go I warn a couple “I’m between you” and the young woman says “go for it” (or something like that) and I am getting FASTER and the curving road in Prospect Park seems familiar (did a duathlon here years ago) and impossibly long and I’m at the Finish Line.

And Bam! My watch says I averaged 8:01 min/mile!

Like they say in the Kindergarten report card: “Exceeded expectations”.

I was surprised to find that my last half marathon was way back in 2019, and my best was in 2014 (1:36:21!) and of course I was faster then, but today’s race was faster than the two HMs I ran in 2018. And faster than the 15k and 20k races I ran earlier this year. As far as I’m concerned, this is PR.

And: my fourth race in a row (the 15k, 20k and Oceanside 70.3) where I enjoyed the entire race. THIS time with some reference to the watch, as a way to keep me motivated to go faster. I’m on a roll.

Ironman Oceanside 70.3 – April 6, 2024

This was my first race where I had to bring my bike on a plane.

Reconstructive surgery in Larry’s garage

I chose this race because it fit my schedule and to visit my college roommate Dzu Do, who had moved from New Jersey to San Diego in 2023. I then realized I had other friends to visit in the area, starting with Larry Binderow who shared his beautiful home in Rancho Santa Fe on Thursday and Friday before the race. Great to see him in his native habitat!

With Larry Binderow, Esq.

Racked bikes at the Transition Area on Friday — the coldest day on record for San Diego (41 degrees F). And it poured.

And it poured the day before the race.

But that just meant the next day would have nothing left in the sponge and, by definition, warmer!

Getting to the race Saturday morning was a logistical nightmare, but good practice for adapting to changes. Rolling with the punches. Annoying, but nothing more. First, the GPS took me to the Oceanside Transit Center parking lot, but no one was there — until I found the parking lot building. Then, I joined around 75 people waiting for the shuttle bus to get to Transition. It took 30 minutes for 2 buses to arrive; we squeezed in, standing in the aisles, and got to Transition only 15 minutes before transition closed!

Waiting for the shuttle buses with 75 other athletes…

Still, glad I didn’t join the handful who had decided to walk the 2 miles… Dumped out everything I had brought, set it up and ran out. Not enough time to worry!

I had been concerned (actually, terrified) about swimming in the ocean, and yes, the water was 60 degrees on race day. Still, waiting to get started, I met all kinds of people — two quiet, weather-beaten brothers from Utah in their 50s; a guy from New York, and two from Connecticut — and the excitement was palable. Lined up with others behind the pacer’s sign for those expecting to swim at a 1:40 min/100 yd pace. Everyone shuffling towards the four-at-a-time chute onto a sloping dock and suddenly we’ve crossed the starting line and we are IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN!

GOOOOOD MORNING! Actually, with my full-length wetsuit and neoprene swim cap, it really wasn’t bad. In fact, it felt great. They initially planned to have us run into the surf and swim around the jetty in a clockwise “U”, but the surf was so rough we were re-routed to stay inside the bay, swimming the 1.2 miles in a counterclockwise route, leaving buoys to our left, turning at the red buoys, then back to the same starting place. The water was quite calm, and felt like a favorable current going out. Dug into my new, improved stroke — reach reach reach for the catch, elbows high on the return, breathing 3-2-3 and sighting frequently, nudging up next to and then past the folks in my way (gently, didn’t kick anyone, I promise!). It felt strong, it was delightful, I was choosing my route rather than depending on drafting for more than a few minutes. The only trouble was seeing the orange buoys on the way back (rather than the outward-bound yellow buoys) as we swam into the rising sun. Finished and stumbled out in 42:18 minutes – slower than planned, but it felt solid.

Swim out. Hadn’t practiced taking off the wetsuit…

THEN I felt the cold. I decided to run run run to T1 to get warm again— rather than stopping to slip off the wetsuit. Didn’t work so well: I sat on the ground, struggled out of the suit, tried to dry off, put on a long-sleeve biking shirt (Hastings Velo!) because the air temp was only 50 degrees, tried to put on gloves but couldn’t so put them in back pockets, heard the announcer say “must wear your race bib on the bike” so put on my running belt with holsters for water flasks to which I had oh so cleverly attached the race bib (whoops, that’s not so aerodynamic), helmet with magnetic visor (a little cracked because it hadn’t travelled as well as I’d hoped in my carry-on) and started to ride.

I didn’t shiver. But I couldn’t unclench my jaw for 45 minutes.

Could NOT stop clenching my jaw after leaving that cold water!

I also couldn’t feel my feet, so pushing hard felt great, and the power meter indicated I was cruising along at 190-200 watts, my sustainable goal, for the first hour or so. And I realized: this is simply a gorgeous place to ride. We hit the first of the four big hills at around Mile 20, and at some point we entered Camp Pendleton, a Marine base (complete with three armed Marines who responded to my “Thank you” with grunt-shouting “Hoo-hah! Hoo-hah!” Seriously.). The rolling hills and valleys were covered with different shades of green and brown, the shadows were sharp and crisp, the day was sunny. It felt amazing to be there. And eventually I warmed up (especially on those longer, steeper hills), but still glad to have the extra layer on the downhills (when we unfairly faced headwinds!).

Eventually, warmed up and enjoying the ride

At around 2 hours, I started slowing down — enough for a lot of people to pass me — including those that didn’t look like great riders on fancy bikes. Marveled at a heavy woman who was a powerful rider (“Yeah, this is my favorite part” she said); chatted with two other guys from Utah, one in a bright yellow shirt (“yeah, those brothers are Randy and John, they train with us”); a young woman with blond ponytail left me in the dust; leap-frogged with a young guy in blue/purple/green tri-suit (“nice to see you again!”); was dropped by no. 1370, a guy in an olive-green shirt. And rather than dwell on falling behind, I just did what felt sustainable. Oh, well, it’s a 3-part race, I was NOT going to blow up on the bike. I kept on enjoying the scenery and enjoying the race. Took my nutrition, had a caffeine gel at 3:00 hours (boom! Optimism!).

At one point a dreaded referee rode up next to me, sitting backwards on a motorcycle while someone else drove. I got out from behind the rider ahead of me – we’re supposed to be 12 meters behind to avoid a drafting penalty! – and the referee said, “Why don’t you just finish passing this rider?” Did it, she smiled, and I dodged a penalty! Finished in 3:22 (17 mph) – a mediocre result, but I had fun the whole ride.

Ah, the run. I decided not to look at my watch, and just do what felt like a strong pace. And… I passed dozens of people, including yellow-shirt from Utah, woman with pony tail, blue/purple/green suit, olive shirt. THAT was satisfying.

First loop of the 13.1 miles was solid, with some uphills and that wonderful turnaround; second loop was harder, but didn’t kill me, just sticking with what felt strong and sustainable. And at Mile 11 I realized my watch hadn’t been ringing at me every mile because — wait for it — I hadn’t even started the watch on the run.

I laughed and realized I had been truly immersed in the race, picked up the pace the last two miles (at least, it felt like I got faster, and a guy I passed said “now, that’s a nice pace”), and finished the way I started, with a smile. Ran the half marathon in 1:52:59, an 8:37 min/mile average. I had expected to do 8:20, but so it goes.

This was my best race ever as far as attitude: I had never before enjoyed the entire thing. Results were mediocre: 6:10:30 total, maybe my worst for this distance, but for the first time that feels less important than being delighted with the experience. And did okay among my peers: 22/75 for age group, (32nd in the swim, 39th in the bike, 22nd on the run); 1,015/2,711 OA.

Leaving the race was another logistical nightmare: walked almost 2 miles to transition to get the bike (no shuttles arrived), miraculously packed all of my stuff into the net bag I had brought to avoid blocking up transition, wedging the bicycle pump between my handlebars and aero bars; and slowly riding back two miles in traffic to the parking lot building. Exhausting. Oh, well, racing is an exercise in patience, resilience and adapting. Getting to the rental car was the real Finish Line. (Note to other triathletes: if you’re going to do this otherwise wonderful race, stay in a hotel near the starting area. Driving in and parking and depending on shuttles was… overly challenging.)

Afterwards, visited the other fine folks who inspired me to travel to sunny San Diego: stayed Saturday night after the race with Rachel’s cousins, Jeff and Debbie Margolis, in Corona Del Mar,

Get the local clan! With Zan, James and their girls

visited Dzu and Han Do in Carmel Valley on Sunday,

Dzu Do in his beloved convertible

and had breakfast with Mark Laska on Monday.

So wonderful to spend time with each of them, and to see why they’ve chosen to move to and live in such a beautiful place. A great trip, a great race, and quite the journey!

Fairfield 20k – February 11, 2024

With Greg Donat, friend from high school and college, after the race.

Last week’s 15k had been almost magical in shifting my attitude and didn’t know if I could re-create the magic. So, I had some doubts about this race: didn’t get enough sleep the night before; and wasn’t sure I had trained enough to run 20k (12.4 miles) — farther than the 9.3 miles of last week’s race and a 10-mile workout of a month ago.

Arrived at the elementary school parking lot a solid 40 minutes before race time — checked in (using the same bib as last week’s “Boston Buildup” race), found the men’s room (even the faculty had child-height toilets!), and ran a couple of blocks. That got me warm enough to take off a layer and meet up with high school and college friend Greg Donat (who took up running races only a few years ago and made the cut for Boston this year). I had politely declined to warm up with him — I am not running a marathon and don’t need 2 extra miles before and after a race!

This was such a low-key affair that they didn’t have an airhorn or anything — the crowd simply surged forward, and someone near me said, “Have we started?” Coach Steve had suggested that based on my 8:12 pace from last week I’d average 8:25 today. Frankly, I was relieved that Greg planned to run a 9:30 pace so I didn’t have to worry about keeping up with him.

Right away, I got into enjoying the motion and the effort and the thrill of pushing — enough to continually feel that I was moving FORWARD, resisting the lag, enjoying the uphills (wow, these marathoners don’t seem to slow down at the hills!), LOVING the downhills. Only looked at the watch to make sure it was clicking off some mileage — whoops, that first mile was a 7:40, but it felt fine, not rushed. Kept checking in: the left knee started aching but then stopped, this pace is sustainable, each mile marker was spray-painted in purple on the road so I didn’t have to check my time.

Saw a guy around my age looking at his watch and I thought, “what are you checking for? You already qualified for Boston!” Chatted with a woman in her 30s dressed in yellow jacket, and she said, “that woman ahead of us in black? She’s at every race I’m in and she’s always ahead of me until the very end.” Woman in yellow surges ahead, I catch up to the woman in black, and tell her about my conversation; she replies, “Oh, please, I’m twice her age!” Later, I say, “Finally! another uphill!” to a fellow age grouper, with short gray beard and built like he’d been a tremendous athlete when he was younger, and he just laughs.

And then the downhills are so continuous, I can’t believe it; my quads are aching but I’m feeling fine. I turn to a guy with gray hair and say, “is there an uphill coming? Do you know?” He ignores me! Either he’s an asshole or he’s digging deep or he’s just deadly serious and that’s what got him into qualifying for Boston. After the race ends, he came up to me and said, “I couldn’t hear what you were saying.” He’s partly deaf and reads lips!

And, lo, another result better than expected: 1:44:38, or an 8:05 minute/mile pace. My only goal with this crowd was to be in the 50th percentile, so 6/11 AG (60-69 years), 75/190 OA was fine.

After cheering on Greg’s finish, he agreed (while we tacked on another 1/2 mile) that running can be pretty joyful. And going inside the school cafeteria to stretch, I bumped into the woman in black, and the guy with the gray beard, and a third runner in her 60s. They all had changed into warm dry clothes and were chatting and asked me, “So, see you in three weeks?” at the final, 25k race in the series.

I don’t know if I’ll do another, longer training race. But it’s a nice bunch of people, dedicated to running, and it’s nice to tune into each mile as its own celebration that culminates in a Finish Line.

Boston Buildup 15k (Ridgefield, CT) – Feb. 4, 2024

This may have been one of my best races ever, starting at an elementary school in Ridgefield, Connecticut (50-minute drive from my house), with plenty of room, warmth, and toilets….

Focused on the right priorities: (1) don’t get hurt, because my training for a Half Ironman is progressing nicely (thank you, Coach Steve); (2) don’t look at the watch (thank you, John McD) except for when it buzzed on my wrist the first mile of the 9.3 mile course: 7:45, that’s too fast, but it was a lovely downhill on a narrow road into a sunny morning with tall, bare trees…. And (3) have FUN (thank you, Vassilis)! Felt like I was running with all these friends and their good advice.

Pretty obvious that having fun was (and always should have been) the most important priority. I kept checking in on the status of the ship’s vitals (Mile 4: hamstring tweaking; maybe my posture needs adjustment, or slow it down?) and of the captain’s mental state (“Oh, no, that guy is passing me!… That’s not a helpful thought. I won’t think about it. What a beautiful day! Ooh, another downhill!”)

Here I was, racing with these folks who were preparing for the Boston Marathon (I qualified for Boston but didn’t make the 5:29-minute cut that Boston’s race directors imposed to reduce the field from 31,000 to 20,000 runners). So I sometimes felt like an imposter, but recognized “that’s not a useful thought; I won’t think about it; damn, what a great day!” Everyone around me is dead serious, no one saying a word. In contrast, my jaw is hurting at Mile 7 from smiling so much.

Miles 8 and 9 were uncomfortable, but arrived sooner than I expected (another benefit of not looking at the watch!), leapfrogged with another guy my age wearing a shirt from a triathlon we’d both done, got passed by the young woman who I had passed early in the race and who had gas left in the tank for a wonderful sprint, and I finished still smiling.

And the metrics were great! Steve had predicted I’d run 9:00-9:15 minute/miles (based, he forgets, on the reasonable workouts he had given me), and I finished in 1:16:22 – an 8:12 minute/mile pace. And my heart rate average was 143 bpm — totally reasonable, middle of the range.

For once, I was merely curious about my results relative to others in the 60 and older range. Turns out pretty good: 5/18 for AG (60-69 year old men, not including the 70+ guys who were included in the “Veterans” category), and 67/177 OA. But more importantly, I had fun. Now, THAT’s a sustainable attitude to take me through another season.

Sleepy Hollow Halloween 10k — 10/28/2023

I had mixed feelings about running this one. Having focused on swimming most of the summer to prepare for crossing the Hudson River, this was my only race after that Big Swim. Not a lot of running in these legs, but not a long course, either. Friday night, I walked into a curb with enough force that I flew across the sidewalk and into a hedge, and hurt my right foot’s big toe. I assumed I wouldn’t be able to run the next day, so went out with Rachel and friends for a beer and got to bed late. But next morning, the toe was not sprained or broken, and it felt okay in running shoes. So, I would have another excuse for any mediocre results: I’m almost 61; I bruised my big toe; and the cat ate my homework.

This is a great community event, complete with someone in a headless costume on top of a horse. (He couldn’t race; horses are not allowed!). During my warmup, I came across a portable toilet with a short line — gold! — so got near the starting line moments before the race began.

Coach Steve and I thought that with such limited training and such a hilly course, I’d average 8:05 minute per mile. I figured anything under 8 is a damn good mile. So imagine the thrill when not just the first downhill mile but also the second relatively flat mile were in the 7:30s. At about 2 1/2 miles, I saw the lead runner coming back — he must have been at mile 4, and was a wonder to behold. (I later spoke with him — Harbert Okuti, from Uganda, lives right there in Tarrytown — and he finished in 31:54, an unbelievable 5:08 min/mile pace. “This guy runs with the big boys” said a seasoned participant.)

The work got serious around mile 3 1/2, when the pretty neighborhood got a bit steep. I was leapfrogging with a balding guy in a white shirt, and around mile 4 1/2, I caught up and asked how old he was. “5 (pause). 8.” I said good, we were in different age groups, because I was 60. Apparently that demoralized him and he fell behind…

Some downhill going towards the Philipse Manor train station and then the awful run into the Kingsland Point Park (where we had finished the Lighthouse Swim), and as I started the uphill to get out of the park I realized that I would have to dig deep…

… and I thought about my parents. And for the first time, instead of feeling overwhelmed with sadness at losing both of them this year, I suddenly felt lighter, buoyant. My Mom wasn’t around to worry that I’d have a heart attack while racing; my Dad wasn’t around to shake his head and ask why I put myself through this; and all I had was the blessing of remembering them. I picked up the turnover and it felt great.

The final 0.2 miles in the Sleepy Hollow races is always up, up, uphill. But knowing I was at the end made it easier to work harder. Finished, exhausted — but not hurt, and complete.

Bottom line: 48:50, or 7:52 min/mile. As they say on kindergarten report cards, “exceeded expectations”. Alas, no age group podium — 1st place (67 years old!) finished in 46:56, and 2nd and 3rd place were 3 seconds apart from each other, at 48:19 and 48:22. There’s no way I could beat those times. But 4/47 for AG, and 110/1,200 (yes, 1,200 runners) is fine by me. This was my best effort for that day. And that’s the new standard of a good race.

The Lighthouse Swim – Sept. 10, 2023

This was a bucket list challenge: a three-mile swim across the Hudson River. The Lighthouse Swim begins in Nyack, NY and exits in Sleepy Hollow, NY. I literally learned to swim long distance to do this event. But between hosting a bar mitzvah, breaking a foot, and bad weather, I had tried 5 times to get to the starting line. THIS was the year I was going to DO it.

Lucked out two weeks before the event: as I was leaving the pool at the JCC in Tarrytown, the aptly-named Sara Swan (whom I hadn’t met before) asked if I was doing the Lighthouse Swim, and said she and some other friends would be training in the Hudson during the 10 days the JCC pool was closed. So, I met with her, Alex(andra), Jason Poure (who didn’t do this event but was training for the New York 70.3) at beaches on the Hudson five or six times to get acclimated.

With Jason and Alex at the Tarrytown pool, a morning when we couldn’t get into the beach – and just as well, the river had white caps!

And are days later, with Sara and Jason, another day at the beach!

Good opportunity to experience bad things: at the end of one swim, my calves cramped and I had to “limp” my way in with breast stroke — so I had to prepare for that possibility.

Weather reports predicted torrential rain for the night before the Swim (which would have created nasty water from the runoff) and thunderstorms in the morning (which would have canceled the event, for fear of giving new meaning to “diehard commitment”) but neither occurred. And for the first time in 14 years, I got on the bus and it actually took us from Sleepy Hollow to the dock in Nyack! Chatted with some Serious Swimmers, including Dale all the way from Kansas City (“…Missouri! We hate Kansas!”).

I knew that after 40 minutes, I’d be cold, and I expected the 3.2 miles to take me 2:10 hours (based on my mediocre speeds during our open water training days: 2:23 min/100 yards). So I wore a wetsuit (along with only 10 others of the 80 swimmers). Dan Fingleton, terrific marathoner from the Hastings Running Group, had volunteered among the kayakers – and we had a kayaker for every two swimmers. (“Couldn’t get much safer, Mom”.)

A lot of dedicated volunteers made this possible. *Photo by kayaker Dan Fingleton

I waited on the dock and we went in waves – “slowest first”, but without any estimated pace. Sara and I walked up in the fourth wave, and we slipped off the dock into the warm water (73 degrees or so).

Sara and I waited for the wave to start… “Where’s the second buoy?”

Started up strong, but decided that this was something I was going to survive, not race. The goal was to get to the other side without cramping or at least without needing assistance. The sight buoys anchored along the route were pretty frequent and helpful. More so were the two rows of kayakers — so I could have just sighted looking at the kayak next to me (whoops! If I can see this guy, I’m turning my head too much!). At one point, one of the kayakers was in between the rows of the other boats so I couldn’t see the buoy, and I must have made some noise because she eagerly said “do you need some help?” And I said, “no, I want you out of my way!”

One at a time, my right foot cramped; then my left calf; then my right calf. Each time I caught it early, didn’t give in to the temptation to do breast stroke (I had learned that made it worse) and instead focused on my abs; somehow, that forced me to stop kicking from my knees, and the cramps went away.

In the last third — where I could see I was next to the last two towers of the Tappan Zee Bridge (I refuse to call it the Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge!) — I stopped to shout “Woot woot!” Because I was in the middle of the Hudson River, that’s why. Just before the end, I could SEE the lighthouse, OMG, almost there! and started going straight for the beach, but the kayaker next to me said “they want us to go north to that buoy” so I grumpily followed directions, and a good thing — others who went “straight” for that inflatable finish line ended up being pushed down river by the current and had to swim north again. One guy had to be pulled in, because a barge arrived, and he was too close to get out of the way safely.

Bottom line: I finished it!

Final time was 1:24 (and final distance was 4,000 yards, or 2.3 miles, rather than 3.2 miles as I had expected), 2:07 min/100 yards — faster pace than I expected. Very happy to have achieved this one — and now that I’ve done it, I’ll can do it again, with lesss trepidation.

And ten minutes after the last swimmer got out, it started to rain — hard enough to eliminate visibility!

I also swam to raise money for Feed Westchester. The support from some VERY generous friends put me among the top fundraisers (for which I received an insulated coffee mug labeled THE LIGHTHOUSE SWIM). PLUS I won a raffle (I never win raffles!) and won a free month at the JCC in Tarrytown — where I had met the core group of these friendly, strong swimmers.

Litchfield Hills Triathlon – July 8, 2023

Got up at 3:15 a.m. to leave at 4:15 to arrive at West Hartford, Connecticut by 6 a.m. (Surprise: Litchfield is only 1:30 drive from home, but Litchfield Hills are 1:45 hour away….) Had prepared EVERYTHING the night before, and had time for 5-10 minutes of PT for the bursitis in my hips just before driving. Had considered sleeping in, not feeling ready or pumped up for this race, but as long as I was awake and as long as I was driving… might as well do it.

Nice, friendly people volunteering and racing. “General seating” on grabbing a place to rack the bike, but found a place on two slots from the end of the row (easy to find) and near a garbage can and fence (easy to leave my oversized gear bag).

Race Director Mark Wilson preaching to the choir before the race began…

The swim: Lots of jostling – only three mass wave starts (men under 40, men over 40 and over, women and relay teams – remember this detail for the end of the blog…) – so it was hard to find clean water. On the other hand, easy to draft off someone the first loop (out of the water to run across the beach after the first loop was challenging — hard to walk let alone run!) and beginning of the second loop. Finally got into a rhythm and enjoyed the water (short sleeve wetsuit was fine, won’t ever listen to that stupid Monster Lake fisherman’s website about water temperatures for various lakes – they had reported 64 degrees!). But whenever I relaxed I had to remember to stay smooth but work harder, this is a race! Apparently I didn’t remember enough: my speed dropped from 1:48 min/100 yds to 2:05, ultimately averaging to 1:54 min/100. (Coach Steve had predicted 1:55. The guy’s good with numbers…). Finished the 0.9 mile swim in 31:25.

Transition 1 included a long run along a rocky dirt path. I tried to take off my wetsuit sitting down on the bench where I had left my shoes. Big mistake: gotta stand up and step on the suit leg I’m removing. Not sure how much time that cost. And then run/walking the 1/4 mile to transition (heart rate through the roof / walk to get HR under control…). T1 in 6:18.

Bike, as advertised, started with screaming downhills and rolling hills for the first 15 miles, then up! up! up! for the remaining 10. My 5-mile intervals told the story: 21.6 mph, 25.7 mph (!), 19.2, 18.4… then 12.3 mph for the last ascent. Got into leap-frogging with Doug Casey, nice guy I had met on the line to the outhouses before the race: I repeatedly passed him on the flats and downhills (reaching, um, 49 mph, which I only learned after the race, fortunately), he passed me on the uphills, and as noted, the ride ended going uphill… Truly sharing the road with traffic – van turned right slightly ahead of me! Big trucks slowing down in the middle of the route!

Good news is bursitis in my hip scarcely flared up (apparently PT is helping) but adductors felt tired early on, and my wattage/speed dropped towards the end even at moments of flat road. 1,340 feet of elevation over the 24.8 mile (40 km) course. Finished in 1:14:36; average speed: 18.9 mph, avg. power: 197 watts. Not bad on a tough course.

All I want to do is FINISH, take home my participant’s medal, and sleep…

Run (walk!) on the grass to transition, and probably would have been faster changing to running gear if I hadn’t been panting so much. Some mixed feelings when I saw a guy who had passed me on the bike with “62 [years old]” on his calf getting into transition a few feet ahead of me…. Maybe I’m chasing him, maybe he’s chasing me… T1 in 2:21.

Hard to rev up and get moving into the run, and knew it would be rough: the race ended mostly uphill. Even when we started running the early downhills I knew this was going to be another race like Kingston’s last year, where I felt I had to earn each and every mile. Really, ideal weather — warm but almost entirely shaded. Rest stops every mile had “barrels” to dispense into cups — not enough volunteers, I guess, to hand out the water. Off in the distance was Doug (who kept and increased the lead he took on the bike; let it go, he’s not my age group) and then he was gone… Another guy way ahead I thought was in my age group seemed too far to catch as well. Oh, well.

Doug Casey took 3rd for his 55-59 Age Group — a most gracious bunny to chase, even if I couldn’t catch him.

I just tried to maintain my speed and ended up picking off the younger runners who were within reach, counting those who passed me and those I passed — netting out at 11 racers. (I could not catch that young woman with the pony tail for the life of me, but that big guy who took a break at every water stop finally lost his mojo at mile 5…).

Once I realized that however hard I ran, my ranking at the end of the race was likely already sealed, it was hard to push harder. The temptation to take it easy on the uphills was tremendous, but this was MY race, going as fast as I was able, checking in and feeling whether I could push harder, just focus on that nearby mailbox, now the tree a little farther down the road, OMG I’m at mile 5 and what feels like immediately after I turn the corner and for once the Finish Line appears earlier than I expected. (And my Garmin says I was right: the run is only 5.6 miles, not 6.2.) Finished in 47:20, which apparently translated to 8:31 min/mile. (Steve had predicted 8:30… Damn, he’s good.)

Bottom line: 2:42:12, 2/13 for Age Group, 48/179 OA. Not my fastest, but not my slowest either, and felt fine for this challenging course.

But especially humbling: First place overall was my age group – 64-year old, legendary Bill Schumann in 2:11:43 (!), beating 2nd place (30-34 AG) by one second! The guy who came in second didn’t even know he hadn’t won until after he finished — because Bill had been in the second wave of men who started the swim 3 minutes after the younger men’s first wave! And if that weren’t humbling enough, Rick Klutey, the guy who took first place for our 60-64 age group (since overall podium finishers don’t also win their age groups), finished 7th overall in 2:18:15. Yes, 1st place AG was 24 minutes ahead of me.

Among the participants: training buddy and neighbor Jason Poure, here relaxing after the race

Well, the metrics didn’t matter to me during the race, and I’ll stand by my new attitude: did the best I could on that day, felt strong, and enjoyed most of the race. “Who could ask for anything more?” Other than asking for… beer.

Southern Tier, my favorite brand, was a sponsor. Even if they handed out flavors I had never contemplated, any race that serves beer at then Finish Line is a damn good race.

Sleepy Hollow Sprint Triathlon – June 18, 2023

Drove up with racing buddy Alan Golds, walked down from street parking to the Hudson River transition area, lovely community event complete with many first timers (like I was, 11 years ago!) and others chatting that this was their only race, every year.

Donny, a swim buddy from the JCC, was among the newbies.

Waited to run into the water, two at a time — thought we’d be self-seeding based on expected finish time or pace, but no such luck, and a lot of thrashing to get around big guys doing breast stroke. Tuned into a new way to improve my catch and got through the 1 km (0.6 mile) river swim feeling confident. A little choppy, maybe a slight headwind before being pushed to shore. Seven big orange buoys made sighting very easy. I expected to swim at 1:48 pace, but official results were better: 14:58 = 1:42 min/100 yards.

Ran out, stripping off wetsuit near the shore – water lubricating the removal – puffing pretty hard for the run into transition. Looked like one bike in my rack/Age Group was gone (probably the guy who had attached his shoes to his pedals!)… T1 in 3:38.

And Zander runs out. Finishes 2nd OA in the swim in 12:19, = 1:24 min/100 yd. 1st in Age Group for 50-54; as I’m approaching the finish line, he’s leaving, and shouts “Pick up my medal!”

Rode as hard as I could – no reason to pace and conserve, it’s a sprint — and was virtually alone for the entire ride. “Either I’m ahead of everybody, or way behind the better swimmers…”. Going through the Regeneron corporate campus I didn’t even see a volunteer and thought “once again, I missed a turn on the bike course!” Wasn’t sure where that “slow down! Slow down!” sharp turn was so was cautious much earlier than necessary — and the turn turned out to be easier to handle than advertised. Bottom line: 35:26 for a 10-mile course = 18.6 mph. Would have liked to be faster on the downhills, but hadn’t trusted the pavement.

T2 in 1:34. In contrast with the first time I did this race, I did NOT run out of transition still wearing my bike helmet 🙂 … but had to run back a few yards to take my watch off the bike.

The run was bright, virtually no shade along the riverbank and next to construction and rows of new condos and I felt maxed out from the beginning.

Passed a few people, none in my age group, but gratifying. My Garmin said I averaged 7:30 min/mile over the 3.1 miles but official results were even better: 22:01, or 7:20 per mile.

Bottom line: 1:17:38, 2/9 AG (2nd to John Weber, who was the guy who calmly came in 1st to my 2nd place years ago at the local Toughman 70.3). 20/188 OA, so… fast enough to be in 2nd place for 55-59, 50-54, and 45-49. Which was gratifying. AND…. 6 minutes faster than the same race in 2012. Experience IS better than youth, in so many ways.

With Alan Golds and Tom Andrews — each of us took 2nd in our respective Age Groups!

And then, with all the kids running to the finish line with their fathers, and the announcer wishing us all a happy Father’s Day, I remembered that this was my first Father’s Day without my Dad. It just sneaks up on you, doesn’t it?