After volunteering all last weekend for the Buffalo Marathon (and I DID sign up to run it in 2025), I had my first multi-sport race of the season yesterday. I REALLY (REALLY!) wanted to write about Alex’s college graduation before this, but as I didn’t get to it last week, I decided it would be better to do a quick race report now. I’ll get to the graduation blog eventually but since it was already a few weeks ago….
Last year my friend and coach Mark Wilson (and his wife and business partner Tonia) added a half-Ironman race near Syracuse to his Wilson Endurance Sports schedule for this year. There had been an “official” Ironman 70.3 race there for a few years (2015-2018) and the town (Jamesville) had asked him to resurrect it.
I have known them for almost 5 years now since they started the CassadagaMan half-ironman distance triathlon. Cassadaga is an hour south of here and has LOTS of hills. Every weekend in the summer that they are NOT on the road running races, they invite athletes to their home to go for practice rides, runs, and swims of the course, and beer by the firepit in the backyard. I have never used a coach for training but as I am now 60 and want to do my best at Ironman Florida in November I am using Mark’s coaching service this year.
I took very few photos of the race this year so I searched for some photos and found this great short local news story on YouTube. Unlike at the Buffalo Marathon last week I did not get on TV this time.
Because this race was so early in the season (for upstate NY) I only signed up for the AquaBike (1.2-mile swim and 56-mile bike). Having run the NYC Marathon in November I wanted to give my legs a break from high-volume run training for the spring (it is still 5 months until IM Florida so plenty of time for that).
I had initially planned to camp in my van overnight but later realized there was no camping at the park where the race was taking place. I made reservations for just the Friday night before the race at a nearby hotel instead.
Alex couldn’t come with me as a sherpa (they had to visit Pittsburg) but we took Fifa to the kennel/spa together and they wished me luck.
The weather was forecast to be pleasant all weekend (getting close to 80 on Saturday afternoon but that wouldn’t affect me as I wouldn’t be doing the 13-mile run).
The park was beautiful and had a nice sandy beach. I got all my race numbers and left my bike in the transition area overnight.
The T-shirt was very nice, I like how it shows the distances and not just the race name.
I slept well and as I had already registered and racked my bike I didn’t even need to leave the hotel before 6 am. There was a wonderful sunrise over Scrat.
There were blue skies, almost no wind and the water was a wetsuit-perfect 70 degrees (a few people did swim in just bathing suits or shortie wetsuits but most like me wore our long-sleeve full wetsuits).
I knew a few people from the Buffalo Triathlon Club (BTC) would be racing there also but there were more than I expected. So, even though I was there by myself it was nice to know that there were several people I knew well in case I had a problem.
I did a 5-minute practice swim to make sure my goggles were good and that my body was prepared for the cold water. Wetsuits constrict the chest a little and sometimes if one starts swimming fast in cold water it can cause a little panicky breathing.
After the practice swim, Mark Wilson gave a pre-race course preview. We were all very worried about four sections of highway that had been torn out the week before but they ended up not being as bad as described.
I was glad that the way the swim course was laid out the rising sun would NOT be in our eyes at any portion of the swim. I got elbowed in the head in the initial mass swim start but didn’t lose my goggles and swam very fast at first to get ahead of the crowd. I must have gone a little TOO fast though because after a few minutes, I had to slow down to get my breathing correct. After the first 1000 yards (my Garmin watch vibrates every 1000 yards) I realized I could now swim faster and pushed myself harder. I had thought that I had not sighted the buoys very well but my race track was pretty straight.
It was a short run across the sand, grass, and then pavement to my bike. I didn’t do a super quick transition, I like to put on socks and bike gloves, but was efficient and remembered to start my bike computer and pedal power meter.
The first 2 miles were a slight downhill and then there was a very steep half-mile hill followed by 10 miles of mostly uphill. I felt very strong after mile 12 and was proud of myself for doing well up the hills. I had not previewed the course on my bike (I couldn’t make the course preview weekend Mark had organized a few weeks ago) or even driven it in my car (after the 2.5-hour drive from Buffalo I was tired and ready to drive to the hotel after registering) so I was surprised at how hilly it was in the middle portion. The rolling hills sucked the life out of me.
While chatting with other people in the transition area before the race I noticed that two people near me had these large frame-mounted fluid systems. I had tried several aerobar-mounted ones in the past but they always splashed and leaked on my computer and gunked up my bike’s headset. I took a photo to get the name so I could order one and see how it went on long flat rides when I should stay in my aero position rather than sitting up to drink from a regular bike water bottle.
I became even more enthusiastic about the idea when at about mile 14 I dropped one of my water bottles (I have never dropped one in a race before). Luckily it had only a few ounces left and I knew there were two aid stations on the course, but it could have been ugly if it happened at a different time.
Despite the painful hills, the bike course was extremely scenic. Beautiful rural central NY with wonderful vistas of tree-covered peaks, farms with produce fields, cattle, dairy cows (including one scene of black and white holsteins on a hill), and one field of sheep. There were not a lot of spectators but every few miles there would be a family on their lawn or driveway clapping and I always said “Thanks”.
As usual, being a fast swimmer and slow cyclist, I was passed by a lot of people. After about mile 30, it had thinned out enough that I rode alone for 30 or 40 minutes. By the second rest stop at mile 45, I felt awful and my initial plan to do a short cooldown run off the bike seemed ridiculous. I hopped off my bike and used the porta-potty so I would have an empty bladder when I reached the road construction. I stretched, had my second caffeinated gel, and refilled my water bottle when I noticed some Pickle Juice Shots. You are NOT supposed to ever try anything during a race you haven’t had before but I was desperate and had one.
Between the caffeine, electrolytes, and a few minutes off the bike I felt great within 10 minutes of restarting. The road “cutouts” proved much less challenging than described as there was gravel to make the 3-inch drops less awful. After those were behind me I felt very energized and passed about 5 people on the last 10 miles of the course, and none of the several people who had been at the aid station with me caught up to me.
As an Aquabiker my race was done (at 4 hours and 11 minutes) once I dismounted the bike and crossed the timing mat. But Aquabikers then get to run through the finish line for a photo and to collect the medal. I had put on running sneakers and my BTC hat before that (I did not wear my usual BTC racing outfit but a premium model, with cool pink flamingos, that I got on sale during the winter and plan to wear in Florida). After getting my medal I did an easy/slow 3-mile run just to cool down a little and stretch out all the muscles in my legs, back, and neck.
Well, in my case, just a 3.1-mile run…. 😉
I had one of my BTC friends take a nice photo of me. The official photos aren’t out yet (it is only Sunday morning now) but I’ll add some in later if there are any good ones of me.
There were 4 men (all between 24 and 39) who did the whole half-Ironman in less than 5 hours. Very impressive considering how hilly the bike was. One of them finished while I was doing my run. My friend Joe was 6th overall and won his age group. I had joked with him that this was the one race I would finish before him (by not running 13 miles!).
I looked at the first page of results and saw that I was 5th (of 15) in the Aquabike and did not think I would get an award as I thought only the top 3 people would. But it was the top 3 men and top 3 women so I was 3rd male and got a hat and mug!
The 1st male Aquabiker had left already, he must have too many awards to care anymore.
I had an excellent massage and then a yummy veggie meal from Dinosaur BBQ (a Syracuse legend).
I was VERY glad I did not do the whole triathlon because running 13 miles under the now very hot sun and THEN driving the 2.5 hours back to Buffalo would have been very exhausting. As it was I didn’t get home until after 5 pm.
I finished the race at 12:11 and if I had done the 13-mile run would have been done before 2:30 pm which was about when I drove away from the park. I saw quick racers finishing but also saw several slow people just heading out on the run. And it was much warmer than when the super fast race winners had finished.
I think next year I’ll again do just the Aquabike but camp and stay over Saturday night, that way I can take advantage of the post-race beer garden.
This morning my legs, back, and neck felt great. The massage therapist totally earned her $20 tip! I had planned for a long slow run of 14 miles today. It was overcast and 60 so perfect conditions. I ran the 14 slow miles and then one hard mile at an 8:20 pace.
On my run, I counted 9 rabbits, one chipmunk, and one deer. I also saw some Killdeer in the park, they are named for their screechy call, they do a trick where if animals or people get near their ground nests they try to draw you away by pretending to have a broken wing.
There are always red-winged blackbirds in the tall reeds of the park’s pond. While on the loop path around the pond, I was surprise attacked by one that scratched and pecked at the back of my head and then circled me menacingly.
The ones who live near the pond behind my house will peck at and harass the great blue herons and even the deer but I have never been attacked before. It gave me a PTSD flashback to the time a Rooster jumped on my back in Malibu in 1983 (I can recount that story if asked…).
In 2020 when Alex graduated from High School (during the first spring of Covid) they set up a sign in the park for graduates to get a photo while social distancing. Now they put it up every year.
2024 is the 60th Anniversary of Tim Horton’s, and I am now 60 too. Along with…..
Wait!! They left out Stephen Colbert??? He is a week older than me which I guess is why I find all of his references understandable.
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Oh, some of the race photos just showed up on Mark Wilson’s page. One of me in my Peace Van hat before the race, one of me with Mark at the swim start with his other athletes and my finisher photo.
Enjoyed the blog, race review. Congrats on a great race, the Swim was outstanding.