IRONMAN Lake Placid Elevation and Cat Climbs (1 loop)
Bear Mountain Elevation and Cat Climbs
Long Bike to Bear Mountain: 108.6 miles
May 28, 2011 — alpaulAnother milestone achieved today. Let’s say a huge milestone 
. The goal was to put in a long bike today to test out my nutrition. The most I’ve biked was about 70-75 miles. Today I conquered the century. Today’s ride called for extensive preparation. Route choice, nutrition! nutrition!……Nutrition was by far the most important aspect of today’s goal. I purchased some Ironman perform drinks from GNC yesterday as that is what will be provided on the IMLP course and I needed to try them on this long ride. The only flavor they had in stock was the “lemon-lime” I bought all 10 bottles. My bikes current hydration config is 2 bottle racks on the frame, a broken seat post “profile design” hydration cage with only one cage left (need to replace soon) and my aero bottle (got musclemilk splashed all over my bike, sorry man). I used accelerade, Ironman Perform, MuscleMilk and offcourse water for all those 8 powergels I would consume. I also carried 2 powerbars of which I would only have 1/2 of one. That stuff is hard to take on the bike. I pretty much just stuck with liquid fuel.
A God sent was a Toga Bikes at about mile 31 of my route. This bike shop would come in handy on my way back. I reloaded on 2 Ironman Performs (orange-mango and mixed berry) and water to take the remaining 4 gels on my way back to Astoria. My initial goal was to do 100 miles (century), but along the way I met a fellow triathlete who is also doing Lake Placid (I initially met him while volunteering at Lake Placid last year) and he persuaded me to summit the “Bear”. Why not? We triathletes love challenges. We spoke for a while and met at the summit for more Ironman conversations. I also met some of his friends who are triathletes themselves (all part of Tri Latino). The summit was well worth it. Took a few pics and decided to head back home asap (didn’t want to get Anh P. worried) The goal again was to simulate race conditions (race in on July 24th – 8 weeks away). I couldn’t afford to recover for too long. The legs needed to feel the burn as much as possible. All is all an excellent success and great ride. Thanks again Charlie T. for all the tips you gave me yesterday.
P.S. The heat killed me out there. I was in desperate need of ice water being poured on my head to cool down my core temperature. Thank God race day will have plenty of ice to pass around. Even contemplated dipping my head in a creek I saw
Nutrition:
4 x Ironman Perform 175 x 4 Total 700 calories
2 x MuscleMilk servings 300 x 2 Total 600 calories
8 x Powergels 110 x 8 Total 880 calories
1/2 Powerbar 240/2 Total 120 calories
2 x Accelerade servings 120 x 2 Total 240 calories
Total = 2540 calories
Calories burnt, approximately 3661 calories. 1121 calories short.
Total elevation gain was 7,362 ft.
Welcome to Bear Mountain State Park
View from the summit of Bear Mountain
Posing at the summit of Bear Mountain
Bear Mountain Bike Elevation
Climb Stats
Info about Climbs
Climb Ratings
Climb Descriptions
MapMyRide Bike Map
http://js.mapmyfitness.com/embed/blogview.html?r=7815099195&u=e&t=ride
Race Report: 2011 NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon
May 23, 2011 — alpaulSince I started running races back in 2009 Brooklyn Half marathon has been one of my favorite races. The course is fast and I love using it as a benchmark for my fitness level. Most of all I love running in Brooklyn. Most of the NYRR races take place in Central Park it makes for a breathe of fresh air when it moves to the outer boroughs.
Heading into this race I felt very prepared. During my current IRONMAN training speed work, tempo and long runs are weekly so I didn’t have to alter or modify my training at all. Last week while we were in Maine celebrating our anniversary I ran a solid tempo in Back Cove, Portland. This added a boost to my confidence heading into the Brooklyn Half.
As per health/injury the one issue I had was tightness in my left ITB. I had this issue before and used KT tape to strengthen it during the race. I did the same for Brooklyn. Before I left for the race I used a heat pad on the ITB for about 10 minutes. As a precaution to the injury I also choose to run with my Newtons instead of the Kinvaras. I love the lugs on the Newtons as they provide extra cushioning.
The course is two loops of Prospect Park and then onto Coney Island via Ocean Parkway. During the race the hills really felt easier than I remember. I guess after running the Lake Placid course two weeks ago and tougher terrain, hills like PP seem like a walk in the park.
After mile 1 taking a look at my split of 7:10 and feeling great I was determine to just maintain that pace throughout the two loops of the park and not bump up the pace too drastically. Splits were pretty consistent until mile 8. I kept close attention to my form especially with the ITB issue. My race plan was to maintain the first 7 to 8 miles and race to the finish. The minute we left the Park and headed to Ocean Parkway the plan was being executed perfectly.
My nutrition was also being nailed at every aid station. Rotated between salt tablets, Gatorade and water. I took the only powergel at mile 8.
Kept pushing through each aid station knowing that my goal of 1:35 was becoming a reality. I tried running as many tangents as I could. Finished with a reading of 13.25 miles, not too bad, also the course is straight after the Park so that helps as well. I knew I was running on target with my splits so never paid attention to my watch’s run time.
Upon approaching the boardwalk I switched to the last gear I had left in my legs to finish off the last 800 meters or so. Last split was 6:00.
Goal was attained with 3 minutes to spare. Finish time 1:32:29. PR by 6 minutes from the NYRR Manhattan Half this past January.
Finish Time: 1:32:29/7:03
Age Place: 107/672
Overall: 484/5909
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