Race for Recovery 9/22/2018

The annual Race for Recovery benefits Gaudenzia Erie, Inc. and their mission to help people affected by chemical dependency...Saving lives, families and communities. 

This is my favorite 5k and its local to me. It is run at Presque Isle in Erie Pa. On this day it was cool and very windy. I went into this race not knowing what kind of speed I would have. I knew i was heavier than past years and I didnt do any speed work. The last 2 years I was able to capture 1st and 2nd place and was hoping at least for a top 5 this year. I felt good and was well fueled for the race thanks to Hammer Nutrition.

As the race started 4 of us pushed to the front and by the first turn a guy had pulled a head of the other 3 of us. by the 2nd turn we had dropped the 4th guy and seemed it would be a 3 man race. By the 1st mile marker 1st place was about 30 steps ahead and myself and another guy were going back and forth for 2nd and 3rd. At some point i realized that the other guy was not challenging me for 2nd place any longer and found him tight behind me, using me to block the wind and save energy. I moved all the way to the left side of the road since he seemed to like to run near the center of the road. As he passed me I tucked in behind him for a while. 

As we past the 2nd mile marker we were gaining on 1st by a lot. and as we got to the point were we had about 3/4 of a mile left there is a sharp turn. We caught 1st at this turn and for a second i moved into 1st place but we were 3 wide coming out of the turn. The other 2 guys had more than I did on this day and were able to pull away from me. I was just trying to keep what I had at this point and watched those two go back and forth for a few moments. Finally the guy who was running with me most of the time took over 1st and kept it.

In the end I took 3rd but this was the funnest 5k I have ever been in. Racing close like that and having 3 people put it all out there was a great experience. I do love this sport and how even though I am 44 years old I am still able to get out there and race in top spots. 

Fuel:
Hammer Gel pre race
Hammer Endurance Amino pre race
Hammer Race Day Boost pre race
Hammer Sustained Energy during race
Hammer Tissue Rejuvenator after race
Hammer Recoverite after race

Gear:
Hammer Running kit

Topo Magnifly shoes
Swifwick socks
Suunto Ambit 2

Mighty Moraine Man Super Sprint Triathlon 9/16/2018

On my quest to improve as a swimmer as well as train and gain experience as a triathlete I went out and hired a triathlon coach. His name is Mark Wilson, he also has a tri club in New York and he is a race director for many triathlon events. With his guidance, along with help from friends I am trying to get this open water swim thing down, which is MUCH harder than it looks.


The date of this event was originally set for 9/9/2018 but due to heavy rains the event was moved to 9/16/2018. I give massive kudos to the race director and the entire staff/volunteers that pulled off moving the event date and had it go off with out any problems that I could see. The only real issue I had was for the super sprint it seemed like we had lack of direction at packet pick up, but this information could have been put out before I got there and just missed it.


The weather was perfect and water had small waves. The atmosphere was awesome, watching as these athletes race their specific distances was amazing. Watching the human spirit in action is incredible!  I picked up my packet and placed the tags on my bike and my helmet then started laying things out in the transition area. I was stressing a bit due to running later than I wanted and was not sure of where I needed to be, heck I could not even find where my bike was supposed to be so I ended up just claiming an area and made it mine. As I walked to the beach I started chatting with someone else that had started warming up and realized he had his marking on his arms and legs, I had forgot to get mine, I didn't even know where to get mine..... I did ask and went right off to get that done then got back to the water and started to warm up in order to calm my nerves.

As the race started I made sure I was last to start the swim, I know my week spot in this sport so I did not want to get in the way of the folks who were much better. The swim out to the buoy wasnt bad and I felt in control but when I turned to swim parallel to shore, the way the waves hit me made me uncomfortable and I started to struggle. I took a break and held on to a kayak to gather myself. I watch as most of the field was heading to the finish. I got started again and finally got to the 2nd buoy and turned toward shore. As I was heading back to shore the swim was easier again. I got to the point where I could stand to exit the water and as i stood up I remember looking around and seeing no one. This crushed me and I kind of slowly walked out of the water but as I got closer to the shore I started thinking about how strong I am on the bike and some how flicked a switch in my mind and started to run to the transition. As I got on the bike I focused on just mashing the pedals as much as possible. within a mile or 2 I could start seeing some other people, this got me going faster. At one point we had a hard left turn but it wasnt marked well and I missed it then turned around but still managed to come in 3rd on the bike. I had a great transition followed by a fair run to finish, I know I had passed a couple more people before the finish. I was very happy to find out that I finished 11th over all.

This was a great event and a good way to gain more experience in the triathlons.

Gear:
STTC kit
Hammer visor

Topo Magnifly shoes
Swifwick socks
Specialized Roubiax

Suunto Ambit 2


Fuel:
Hammer Gel pre race
Hammer Endurance Amino pre race
Hammer Race Day Boost pre race
Hammer Sustained Energy during race
Hammer Tissue Rejuvenator after race
Hammer Recoverite after race