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• News Items and Announcements
• Week in Review and Race Reports

News Items and Announcements

http://blog.bostontriathlonteam.com/search/label/news

March 2010 Sponsor Newsletter and website news.

Author: Dave

March 2010 Sponsor Newsletter

BTT Donates to World Bicycle Relief

Author: Mer

BTT is pleased to announce that with the proceeds from the 2nd Annual BTT Indoor Time Trial on February 21st, we were able to donate $750 to the World Bicycle Relief Foundation. This is enough money to ensure that over 5 more students in Zambia will be able to bike to school versus walk – as the money will go towards World Bicycle Relief’s Bicycles for Educational Empowerment Program (BEEP) that will deliver 50,000 bicycles to rural Zambia to improve education access.

Read about it on their blog: http://www.worldbicyclerelief.org/blog/?p=160

Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen: Blackstone Valley Human Performance, Landry's Bikes in Boston, BTT volunteers, Boston Performance Coaching, CycleOps, Marathon Physical Therapy, Marathon Sports, and OWater!

Week in Review and Race Reports

http://blog.bostontriathlonteam.com/search/label/week%20in%20review

Janice Biederman reports on Florida 70.3

Author: Dave

FLA 70.3

The day did not start off well. We (friend Tracey & myself) had driven to the race site on Fri and Sat so had the route down pat, or so we thought. Come race morning, they had roads blocked off for the race. We had to drive all over creation to get into the parking lot where what beheld our eyes but a 2+ block long waiting line for the shuttle buses to the transition site!! We were getting seriously nervous. We eventually got the transition area 36 minutes before my swim wave went off. Quickly (duh) set up transition, pumped the front tire, tried to pump the back tire only to have the stem of the brand-new-I-bought-it-yesterday-and-never-even-rode-on-it tube break in half, giving me a flat. Determined to stay calm (yeah, right), I pulled out my tire tools and could not get the tire off the rim. Fortunately, the tech folks/volunteers were walking around with a pump and I hailed them down and they changed the tire for me (while the announcer was urging everyone to get down to the water). By the time I grabbed my swim cap, goggles and inhaler (I didn't have enough time to put on my speedsuit), the national anthem was almost done. I desperately needed a bathroom trip and, even though there were tons of real bathrooms plus porta-potties, every one I saw had a mile-long line. Pride be damned, I headed to the bushes where I had a lovely conversation with a gentleman. I finally made it to the water with a whopping 2 minutes to spare.

The Swim
I seeded myself to the far right, front row and had a clean start with minimal body contact. For once I swam pretty darn straight (which cannot be said for 90% of my fellow swimmers) but could not get a draft for more than 5-6 strokes because the water was so murky (no funny taste-just could see more than 6 inches). The swim felt long but maybe that's because I'm so accustomed to wetsuit swims. After what seemed forever, I reached land.

T1
I kept moving in my slow trot but got passed by tons of people. Got to the bike, put on shoes, helmet, gloves (when I sweat I lose my grip on the shifters). Tried to put on spray-on sunscreen but the sprayer wouldn't work-hello sunburn.

The Bike
The bike is usually my best event and it started off well. I felt good but by the time the bike ended, I had heard "on your left" approximately 1,976 times. I did manage to pass 8 poor souls (there are actually people slower than me!!). I had a good pace going up to about 40 miles, then my lower back started tightening up and my speed dropped, plus the wind kicked in. I was ready to get the bike done.

T2
Another so-so transition. Tried the sunscreen again and had the same result. Oh well, melanoma is all about sun exposure before age 18, right? Stopped at the very redolent porta-pottie when exiting transition for my first pee of the day-despite drinking 86 ounces of fluid on the bike.

The Run
The run defines this race. What it lacks in hills-there is nary a speed bump on the course-it makes up with heat, humidity, and a really bad course. The initial part (maybe 200 yards), on a paved bike path, wasn't bad and I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that my legs felt pretty good (not to be confused with good enough to run fast). Managed my patented shuffle for about 8 minutes, when I hit the unshaded grass/dirt/weeds part of the course around mile 1. Things immediately got tough since the sun was blaring down by now (I heard undocumented reports that it was 110˚+ in this 1-1/2 mile section). I resorted to the shuffle some, walk some and lots of self-talk (some in my head, some out loud) to ward off the negative mind set. Part of what kept me fairly positive was seeing some very fit looking guys walking. Side note: I feel that I personally inspired many men to run because whenever I passed a walking man they would look at the age on my calf and immediately start running. You’re welcome guys. Saw 2 guys keel over while running and helped fetch ice for one of them (medics & other racers were pouring ice on him to get his temp down-he was unconscious). I also entertained myself by watching an alligator swim in the fetid water in the canal beside the aforementioned grass/dirt/weed strip. I did manage a slow but determined run through the spectator part at the end of the loop. Loop 2 was tough mentally but I just kept myself going. Loop 3 was actually the best loop, probably because I new I would never, ever have to see that grass/dirt strip again. I also invented a mind game. I counted off 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, 2-2-3-4-5-6-7-8, etc. timed with my foot steps. The game was that I could walk as many steps as I ran so if I wanted a longer walk, I had to do a longer run. That and ice chips at every water stop, 2 cups down the back-2 cups down the front (I think I went up 2 bra sizes at each water stop) got me through the grass section.

The Aftermath
Grabbed a slice of pizza, gathered up my stuff, and waited for Tracey who had finished well before me and had taken her stuff to the car. Went to the awards ceremony to collect my nifty award (attrition is a wonderful thing-there were only 2 women in my age group so I got 2nd, also known as last. I was a very distant 2nd, I might add). Went back to the hotel, showered and assesses the damage: 3 toenails in imminent danger of dropping off, a sore back, and painfully fluorescent pink sunburned shoulders.

I did learn some valuable things from this race: vanilla PowerGel tastes awful; raspberry PowerGel tastes great; check the sunscreen before the race; allow an extra hour to get to a race; positive self-talk can really help.

Week in Review (September 12-20)

Author: Pat Dwyer

Lots to report over the past couple of weeks. We've had a ton of people racing late season tris and road races (mostly to get ready for a fall marathon).

We'll start with September 12 and 13. September 12th saw Steve Sian and Mark Pelletier race half marathons, Maple Leaf Half Marathon (VT) and Plymouth Run to the Rock Half Marathon, respectively. Both put in solid races. September 13th had a few BTTers head up to Maine for the Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival. Pete Jensen and Mary Beth Begley both raced the half ironman distance event. The quiet man, Jamie Strain, continued his 2009 tear with a top five overall finish at the Mighty Hamptions Olympic distance race (he also won his AG). Great job Jamie! And, lastly, taking her skillz offroad, Jess Douglas raced the Hale Offroad Triathlon in Westwood where she finished 6 woman overall and won her AG. Never at a loss for words:), Jess gives us her report:

I entered this race last year on a whim. Thought it might be fun to try mountain biking in a tri, despite the fact that I don’t do any offroad training. Ended up winning, despite crashing and breaking/spraining a few ribs and my big toe.

Then comes this summer, where I had a full race schedule planned, and it did not include this race. But with injuries, etc, my plans changed and I figured I should at least try to defend my title.

Then it poured buckets on Saturday. Maybe I would bag it, but couldn’t be that wimpy. Got to the race really early and set up transition. Got on my bike, and played on the trails a little. What was I thinking?? The last time I was on a trail was the race last year (when I crashed!!)! Anyways, I ran a little, then got in water – very metallic and brown. And a lot more chilly than Walden had been last week, darn rain.

This is a very small race, and all the proceeds are used for a scholarship fund they use for the summer camp they run at the reservation. Pretty cool.

Swim was good. Got smacked in the face right out of the gate, knocking my goggles a little and letting a little water in. So, I stopped, fixed them and tried to find a rhythm. Felt good after the 1/4 mile swim, got in and out of transition fairly well. I did miss the crowd of blue and green cheering me on at Timberman, though!

The bike course was different that last year, more technical and a little longer, I think. VERY wet, muddy, slippery and generally yucky. I am proud that I did not crash again, but was worried that I would. About halfway through, my left shoelace came untied and wrapped itself around the crank. OW. Stopped to fix that, and 2 women and a few men passed me. NOT happy about that. I do not like being passed. But it was hard to get back around the people in front of me on the narrow trails. There were many times that I had to get off the bike, mostly on the uphills, but also one nasty downhill, and one wooden plank over a creek/giant mud puddle.

The run was also longer than last year. Really nice trails, nothing too big as far as climbs or descents. Still really muddy and rocky. About 1/4 mile in, my right shoelace came undone, but I had just passed one of the aforementioned ladies who passed me, and didn’t want to lose ground to her again. So I ran the rest of the race with that shoe untied. Needless to say, this is the last race I will ever do with regular laces in my sneakers. Caught the other woman who passed me as well! Finished the run feeling pretty strong, but was disappointed to hear that I was only the 3rd female finisher. I hadn’t even seen the other 2! Anyways, it was a fun day. They also have 2 kids tri’s for ages 9 & under and 10-15.

Plans for next year:
1) Take advantage of the training rides the offer on the course and actually get out on the trails other than the day of the race.
2) Recruiting some more BTTer’s to participate in this “Alternate BTT” event.
3) NEVER racing without yankz on my sneakers…

On September 19, we had BTTers at both the Lobsterman Triathlon and the TDD Triathlon. After a lot of pre-race smack talk between Brian Quigley and Jorge Martinez on Facebook, only BPQ toed the line at Lobsterman, along with his better half, Michelle. BPQ finished second in his AG (Jorge is still trying to figure out a way to redeem himself:)). Meredith Harjes and Ira Sills (making up for lost time) trekked out to the edge of Western Mass for the TDD triathlon, where both had AG podium finishes.....Meredith 1st and Ira 3rd. Great job guys!

September 20th brought us our last tent series race...Buzzards Bay. Being a late season race, we didn't have a strong showing, but we still had a couple of diehards race....Stephen Wall and Elaine Metcalf. Both finished on the podium (2nd and 3rd) in their respective age groups. Way to represent! And Scott Stavely entered the elite wave at the Dover Sherborn Triathlon and finished with a 5th overall placing. Way to step up!

Lastly....we have Mat Davenport. For those new to the team....Mat is Juli's ornary husband:) You may remember him from the pub run. Then again, you may just choose to forget! He actually used to do triathlons...seriously! Now, Mat is an ultradistance runner. Mat recently completed the Iroquois 100 Trail Race in New York in under 24 hours. Yes, people, that's 100 miles!!! Maybe Mat will grace us with a race report. At the very least, we'll hear him mumbling about it on December 5th! I'll be the guy next to him, mumbling about Kona!

Speaking of Kona, this is my last posting until after the big race. As I mentioned in a early report, I'll be posting daily updates and pics from the Big Island on my blog:

http://bigisland2008.blogspot.com/

I'm also going to try to use twitter while I'm there....but I can't make any promises!

I know we still have some races left, I just wanted to congratulate everyone of a very successful 2009 season!

-Pat

Week in Review (August 29-September 7)

Author: Pat Dwyer

Hey folks....lots to report with Labor Day weekend in this review.

August 29-30. Only one race to report here (following Timberman). But it was a big one....The Cranberry County Triathlon. This olympic distance race is always heavily attended by BTT and this year was no different. We had at least 6 BTTers race (at least those who registered results!), with long time member Scott Stavely placing 2nd in the male 40-44 AG, and Brett Johnston's relay team finishing 3 relay team overall and 2nd in its division. Nice job everyone!

September 5-7 (Labor Day Weekend). There was lots of racing going on over this extended weekend. The big race(s) of the weekend was the Plymouth Rock Triathlon Festival, which included the Mayflower International Distance on Saturday, and the Plymouth Ironman Distance and Iron Aquabike on Sunday. On Saturday, as par for the course, Rachel Saks dominated her AG and finished 41st overall. On Sunday, Krista Schepanovsky tackled the full iron distance race...trying to exorcise some demons from the previous year. Also, Elaine Metcalf, Nicole Kimborowicz and Pat Dwyer (me) competed in the iron Aquabike. Kudos to all those that raced the iron or aquabike. As a veteran ironman racer, I will say that Plymouth was definitely one of (if not the most) difficult iron bike I've ever done. The wind was blowing at a sustained 20mph....and it wasn't a warm wind. And, the roads were terrible...with bumps and ice heaves everywhere. In fact, I broke my aero arm rest 60 miles into it. That being said, it's a nice race...they do a good job. At the end of the day, Krista did exorcise her demons and podiumed with a 3rd place AG finish and a time of 13:47.

However, Plymouth wasn't the only race of the weekend. Austin Whitman went to the far reaches of the New England region to do some early leaf peeping and cherry picking...I mean racing! Kidding Austin! Austin dominated the field at the Circle Triathlon in Ashland, New Hampshire. And Dave Marinofsky started his Boston Marathon build by competing the Laborious 10 Miler in Marlborough, Mass. Lastly, our old friend Mike Williams, who left us shortly after IMLP, continued to fly the BTT colors in Austin, Texas. Mike raced the Austin Sprint Triathlon and made his first podium appearance with a 3rd place AG finish. Mike gives us his report:

Bringing it BTT-style to Austin

I came out of post-IMLP semi-retirement to mix it up in my new town of Austin! After six weeks of unpacking boxes, building baby furniture, and starting a new job, I dusted off the BTT kit for my first Sprint(!) distance race in over two years. Long story short, I was finally able to put the BTT "podium" shirt to good use. I placed third in my age group! Yes, Austin, that's how we roll in beantown. Here's my summary: Austin, as you can imagine, is a great town for triathlon. Good people, lots of positive energy, year-round training. What I missed, however, was the cheering section that I've become spoiled with in New England. I didn't hear a single "go BTT." So... the upside of being a little lonely out there was the absence of any distractions... and I found a fast (enough) gear to make the blue and green noticed. Ok, small secret... there was also an Olympic distance option so I have to believe that's where the real players were racing. Richie Cunningham ran away with the men's and Desiree Ficker came from behind on the run to win. I miss all of you and hope you're having a great New England fall. Please look me up if you come through Austin. I'm thinking BTT "WINTER" Training Weekend!

Lastly, I'll leave you guys with a couple of pictures of some pretty cool bikes....Woody Bikes. A buddy of mine from Cape May, NJ makes these. I saw them up close in August and they're very cool. However, I don't think you'll see them at any triathlons any time soon!

Week in Review (August 15-23)

Author: Pat Dwyer

August 22-23 represented one of BTT's big weekends....w/the Timberman Triathlon Festival on the schedule. In all, BTT had over 25 members racing over the weekend. We also had a big turnout at the tent, which was situated just next transition. The women of BTT were the story on day one, with Rachel Saks and Jess Douglass taking the podium. Rachel, in usual fashion, crushed the field and won her AG and finished 52nd overall. While Jess took home some of Keith Jordan's syrup with a 5th place finish. It's also worth mentioning that Braden Larmon, Ira Sills and Nicole Richer all just missed podium spots. Also, a shout out to Ira who, after suffering an early season crash, competed in his first tri as a member of BTT. On Sunday, we had a sea of blue and green on the course. Unfortunately, the heat and humidity left a lot of it melted on the run course!!! Yes, it was hot! We had 4 podium finishes (3 individual and 1 relay). BTT was led by Trish Weston's 2nd place AG finish (post your results Trish!!!). Carolyn Cullings also endured the heat to reach the podium with a 5th place AG finish. And, Pat Dwyer (me) finished 3rd in his AG. The relay team of Brian Kearney, Brian Quigley and Joe O'leary (non btt), dominated the relay field to win easily. Also, just missing out on a podium spot.....and I mean JUST missing out....was Meredith Harjes. Meredith was kind enough to write up a report on her day:

Week in Review (August 1-9)

Author: Pat Dwyer

We'll wrap up 2 weekends w/this edition.



August 1-2. This weekend saw many BTTers heading up to Salem for the Witch City Triathlon. In all, 8 members raced (or at least logged their results on the website)...with 2 podium finishes. Austin Whitman led the blue and green w/a top 3 finish overall. While new mom, Nicole Richer got back to her winning ways with a 2nd place AG and 10th overall finish. We also had some near miss podium finishes w/Marybeth Begley (4th), Marissa Solomon (4th) and Kristin Parlangeli (5th) just off the mark. Also worth mentioning...not to be outdone by her husband (Austin), although not a member (yet), Victoria Arrigoni won her AG and finished 5th overall woman. All in all a great day up in Salem. There was even a Rip sighting:)



We also had a smaller BTT contingent head up to the Greenfield Litelife Triathlon...where we had all 3 members racing reach the podium. Jay Higginbottom (3rd), Carolyn Cullings (1st) and Lauren Cullings (2nd) all placed in their respective AGs. Great job!



August 8-9. This weekend saw some highlights and lowlights for BTT. First the highlights. We had a strong contingent head up to Gloucester for the inaugural Gloucester Sprint Triathlon (a tent series race), where Stephen Wall and Madame President (Meredith McHarjes) both reached the podium in their respective AGs.



Rachel Saks Aronis made the solo trip up to Salem to do the Wildfish 1 mile swim, where she won her AG and finished 8th Overall.



Lastly, Matt Pokress finished w/his highest placing ever (2nd overall) in a triathlon at the Lowell YMCA Tri (great job Matt). However, we can't mention Matt's placing without mentioning Bill Reeves. Bill helped Matt's placing by getting smoked by a car on the course while leading the race (we can joke now that Bill is fine...but it was a fairly serious crash). Rumor has it that Matt plans to take Bill out to Helens to thank him! Consolation for Bill, of course, is that he is now up for the O'toole Award at the Banquet!



And, although not an official race...but more of a benefit of sorts, I participated in the inaugural 5-5-5 (5 mile swim, 5 mile beach cruiser bike, 5 mile run) down in Cape May, NJ. It's a grass roots event put on by some freinds of mine to benefit the parents of my buddy Terry who he lost to cancer. Only 25 or so people participated, made up mostly of current and ex-lifeguards. It was a ton of fun. I may see if I can invite a couple BTTers to participate next year.

Up next....Timberman!