Mooseman 2009 Race Report

My mom and I traveled up to New Hampshire last weekend for the Mooseman 1/2 Ironman. Mooseman is a race that many Long Islanders have done and a race that I have wanted to do for a while, but haven't done mainly due to my racing schedule and conflicts in the past. Doing other 70.3 races such as Florida and Buffalo Springs that are just too close in time to Mooseman have made it difficult to fit in. The other reason (or "hesitation") I have had with Mooseman is the historically cold water! Also, it can be a bit chilly up there as well and I try and steer clear of cold races...that being said, it was 95 degrees last year and PERFECT weather this past weekend, so if you have any of these excuses in your head, forget them! The race is awesome... As you can see in the picture on the left, the lake was gorgeous!

So, quickly re-capping the race, I was happy to have a small contingent of Runner's Edge and TNT athletes there that I knew, so it was nice to run into them the morning of the race (*see the Team Runners Edge Results following the post). I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that my friends Matt Long (I Will Foundation) and Frank Carino (along with their two buddies) were doing the race! Both Frank and Matt are doing Ironman Lake Placid in July, so I am looking forward to cheering them on up there! It was great to have them at Mooseman.

Race morning was quite nice as I headed to the lake to do my "warm-up", but the water was COLD! In fact, much colder than the day before when I went swimming in the shallow section of the lake WITHOUT my wetsuit! (It was also sunny and 82 degrees the day before). I panicked a bit as I headed out of the water for the start when I realized that I would be starting in the first wave which included over 100 men and me! Yikes! While some women may think that the idea of over 100 men and them is some kind of fantasy (he, he, he...), I can promise you that it is more like a nightmare! I definitely panicked in the swim and ended up costing myself a LOT of time! As the gun went off I found myself "running for my life" into the water and "sprinting" as fast as I could so I would not find myself UNDER some of these men (he, he, he). Even the small men seemed monstrous in size to me in that water. They thrashed about, they hit me, they swam over me. Finally I found myself doing the breaststroke and clutching at the neck of my wetsuit as I was having a hard time catching my breath! "Where's a kayaker", I thought..."Im done for the day"! OK...I got a grip. I slowed down and tried to find some space. From there I "wimpily" (is that a word??) swam to the shore. I exited in 31:33... "Oh well" I thought...I still have a bike and a run!

The bike was AWESOME!!! Some great climbs, but also many sections where you can just FLY! It was a two-loop course and I loved every minute of it! Nothing more to say about that. The men that I despised in the water were much nicer on the bike. Words of encouragement if they passed me, and also when I passed them! I felt great, which was the best part...something that hasn't happened in a while in a 70.3 race! I biked a 2:38:29

Starting the run I felt GOOD, but not GREAT...I tried to just move along as best I could. I must say that on this 2-loop course the way out has some tough rolling climbs, but the way back feels FAST! I started feeling better and better as the run went on! I noticed the other girls who started in the waves behind me, so I wanted to be sure to run fast enough that they would not beat me. With the spacing of the waves it was hard to tell EXACTLY where they were in relation to me, but I felt that if I ran hard, I would be OK. Steve Shulman from Runners Edge (also a TNT and LI Tri Coach) was a great source of encouragement for me out on the run...I looked forward to the turn-around where I would see him, so thanks Steve! In addition to Steve there were MANY spectators out on the course that were going crazy for me as I came by...it was awesome!!! My run split: 1:28:40

So I ended up finishing first despite the fact that I swam 5-6 min SLOWER than the 2nd and 3rd place women (Oops!!!!). The finish line was a party, the race director (Keith Jordan) was awesome, the race was amazingly organized, the area was beautiful...I have nothing but positive memories from this race and I HIGHLY recommend it! Total time 4:42.

Ironman Austria is a mere 3 weeks away! Im happy to have a good result under my belt and I am ready to rock! one more 20-22 mile run is in store for me on Monday and my last 100+ Mile bike is scheduled for Thursday. I am recovering VERY well from Mooseman and am getting more and more psyched to race Austria!

CONGRATS to everyone who raced last weekend in Mooseman and in the Rev 3 Triathlon!

Oh, and Thanks to Brad Smith for actually wanting to read these posts!!! ;-)

*Team Runners Edge Results:

Ken Cunningham - 5:35:37
Mark Eicher - 5:40:46
Nicole Skidmore - 5:59:33
*Michael Guida - 6:05:27
Tim Daly - 6:26:08
Kathy Keilitz - 6:57:19
Louis Ciliberti - 7:07:33
Howard Kohos - 7:20:21
Maria Diglio - 7:32:50
Diane Basso - 8:01:58

Congrats to our 2 Mooseman Olympic Finishers:

*Michael Guida - 2:53:10
Deborah Young - 3:50:06

*Competed in the Bullmoose challenge completing the Olympic Distance race Saturday and the 1/2 IM Sunday...