The Pumpkinman Half was to be my second half distance triathlon of the 2016 season, and my fourth and final race for the summer. After just missing my 5-hour time goal at the Patriot Half in June by finishing in 5:00:17, my primary goal at Pumpkinman was to break 5-hrs. To add to the fun of Pumpkinman, five other teammates from the MIT Triathlon club were signed up to race, which made for a very fun team atmosphere both during training and race weekend.

Training

For Pumpkinman I followed a similar strategy to how I trained for Patriot, structuring my plan around Joe Friel's "Your Best Triathlon," and adjusting workouts slightly to my schedule. Following Patriot I purchased a Power2Max powermeter, and leading up to Pumpkinman I spent a large portion of my bike training on the indoor trainer using the TrainerRoad mid-volume plan for half-distance. As much as I prefer riding outside, the time/benefit ratio of indoor training with very specific power targets is undeniable. I think the time I spent suffering early in the morning on the trainer played a big role in my cycling gains at both Cranberry and Pumpkinman.

In my Patriot race report I identified my swim execution and run pacing as two major areas where I could improve. Over the summer I worked hard on my swim, trying to get 4 swims in per week, usually including an open water swim and a session devoted mostly to drills. I also spent a lot of time working with the Finis Tempo Trainer trying to improve my pacing. For the run, I focused on making sure I completed some quality long runs so I hopefully wouldn't fade as much during the final 5k. One session in partuicular that was very tough, but beneficial, was a 1.2 mile non-wetsuit swim at Walden Pond followed by a 14 mile run home to Arlington. 

My training log for Pumpkinman can be seen here. I also sailed a couple F18 events during the summer which restricted training during those weekends, but I adjusted my training schedule so regatta weeks were treated as rest weeks. On the plus side, we placed at both F18 events!

Pre-Race

Lianne and I decided to drive up to South Berwick on Saturday afternoon and stay in the area Saturday night. We found an awesome and very affordable airbnb 5 minutes from the race site- perfect! Arriving Saturday afternoon allowed me to complete packet pickup and prep all of my race numbers on Saturday... which would turn out to be incredibly beneficial. We met fellow MIT racers Becca (and her husband Roger) and Mo at packet pickup and had a nice group dinner at a Thai restaraunt in Dover, NH. Overall, a wonderful and relaxing way to start race weekend.

Race Day:

Being only 5 minutes from the race venue meant I was able to wake up at 4:45 am and have a relaxed breakfast before prepping water bottles and getting geared up. With transition open from 5:30-6:45, my plan was to arrive at the venue around 5:50-6:00, leaving plenty of time to park and setup transition. All was going well until I turned the key to start my car- and nothing happened. The engine didn't even turn over. Not the best feeling in the world, but fortunately our airbnb owner was awake and offered to jump my car with a plug-in charger he had. Perfect, no worries, still plenty of time. Unfortunately, the car still wouldn't start and we made the decision to transfer my bike and gear to our host's car and get me a ride to the venue, while Lianne would wait for the car to charge up and come join later. Words cannot express my gratitude to our hosts for getting me to the race on time. Things were a bit rushed getting setup in transition, but I made it with some time to spare, and quickly tried to refocus on my race.

After a short warmup swim I drank a bottle of Hotshot with ~30 minutes until my wave, and was happy to see Lianne made it over to the swim start. Unfortunately the car still wouldn't start and she had needed a ride to the venue, but again I tried not to let the morning's events bother me. After a moment of silence for the victims of 9/11, the race got underway and I watched my good friend and VI triathlete Erich Manser absolutely crush his swim. Being in the last wave I had plenty of time to kill before my start, and I remembered to take my pre-race gel, unlike Patriot!

Swim: 36:33 (1:44/100yds) 8/15 AG, 101/274 OA

A big goal at Pumpkinman was to swim closer to my potential. I was very dissapointed in my swim at Patriot, so this was my opportunity to demonstrate the work I have been putting in at the pool and lake. The swim at Pumpkinman is two triangular loops (if the marks don't drift!) with wave starts. I lined up in the middle of the wave, and did an ok job of finding some feet on the way to the first turn. I soon found myself swimming in clear water, and I tried to focus on settling into a good rythm and taking full strokes. With few people around me my mind started to dwell on the fact that I must have been behind my entire wave, and I had to keep convincing myself that I was probably just in a split in the group, and to keep swimming hard. I have a hard time judging my pace during swims, and I really needed to trust my training and all of the practice swims at Mystic Lake. I had some goggle fogging issues during the second loop, but overall I think my sighting was ok. When I hit the beach I saw 36:xx on my watch and that was a huge boost to moral and set me up for the rest of the race.

Hill Climb + T1: 2:18.6

Pumpkinman has a very steep hill climb from the swim exit to T1. Some folks took their wetsuit off before running up the hill, but I decided to stick to my normal program and run to transition with my wetsuit pulled down around my waist. A prize is given to the fastest person up the hill- but I had no interest in that one! I took the hill pretty easy (I admit, I walked a few times- wanted to keep HR in check), but had a quick transition and smooth mount onto the bike.

Bike: 2:32:51 (21.5 mph) 3/15 AG, 21/274 OA, NP=191W, AP=178W, VI=1.07, IF=0.836

The Cranberry Olympic (race report) a few weeks prior to Pumpkinman provided a nice introduction to racing with a powermeter, and gave me some confidence that my bike fitness was moving in the right direction. My goal for Pumpkinman was to ride at a normalized power between 190-195 watts, or an IF of 0.83-0.85. Running the course in Best Bike Split, I got 2:33:xx at a NP of 193 W and average speed around 21.3 mph. The bike course at Pumpkinman is a bit short at 54.5 miles, so I expected to ride a similar speed as Patriot but with a faster time. My ride ended up being slightly faster than the BBS prediction on slightly less power, so I think my position is headed in the right direction. My variability was a bit higher than I would have liked, but there were some decent hills on the course, and I found myself using the little ring a couple times to avoid going to far above 260 watts on climbs.

Overall, my focus on the bike was to ride hard, but controlled. I put a lot of focus on keeping the power from spiking too high on the climbs, and pushing hard on the downhills. I found that I passed a lot of people on the downhills who were coasting while I was trying to maintain somewhat even power. I had a 12-27 cassette with 52/36 rings for the race, and potentially would have benefitted from having an 11 since many of the descents were long and smooth. I kept thinking ofRule #23 and trying to ride appropriately!

Nutrition on the bike followed my plan from Patriot, with 3 shot bloks every 20 minutes starting ten minutes in for the first 1:50:00, then one gel at 2:10:00 and one at 2:25:00 to setup the run. Hydration was to thirst, and I finished a bottle of Nuun and two bottles of water. Never felt the urge to pee on the bike, so may have needed more fluids.

One of the best parts of the bike was seeing MIT teammates Jose, Stan, and Chee during the ride. I tried to yell encouragement as I passed, and it was awesome to see how all three wereabsolutely crushing their first halfs!

About 7-8 miles from the end of the bike things got very, very interesting. The sky looked deathly black down the road, and as I came around a bend I could see a wall of rain coming at me. I did my best to stay aero and keep the power steady while riding in some of the craziest conditions I have experienced on the bike. I had to come out of the aerobars a few times to make sure the rubber side stayed down, but it actually wasn't too bad- I really love how my bike handles in all sorts of conditions. Huge thanks need to go out to the volunteers who were still staffing the turns on the bike course even in the middle of the storm. As a made the turn onto Pond Rd. to head back to transition I heard the run was cancelled, so I ditched any restrictions on power and tried to climb hard to the finish.

Run: Cancelled

Finish: 3:11:41, 5/15 AG, 28/274 OA

Arriving back at transition it was confirmed that the run was cancelled and the race would be scored as an aquabike. Transition was a wreck, with empty racks blown over and fencing knocked down. By this point the rain had stopped and the sky had started to clear, but with multiple trees down around the city, the emergency personell helping with the race were needed elsewhere. Lianne had grabbed some of my gear from transition so I was able to change into some dry clothes (I had packed a pair of shorts and a shirt in a ziploc just in case) and start hydrating. The race organizers did a fantastic job moving the post race meal, which was a full thanksgiving feast, to Spring Hill Lodge for everyone to enjoy in comfort. They also had a nice awards ceremony near transition- huge respect to them for making the best of a difficult situation.

I'll admit, I'm very dissapointed I didn't get to finish the race, but I completely understand the run cancellation. My goal for this season was to get under 5 hours, and with a time of 3:11:xx finishing the bike, I think I had a very strong chance to accomplish that goal. I ran 1:37 at Patriot, and had worked hard on my run over the last few months to run as strong, or maybe stronger at Pumpkinman. I am proud I improved my swim by 3:30 since Patriot, and happy with how I dealt with the unexpected challenges of race morning car troubles. I guess this just means I'll have to do another half.

Post-Race:

After enjoying a team ice cream stop at Aggie's, Becca and Roger dropped Lianne and I at the garage where our car had been towed. Fortunately the problem was only with the antitheft system recognizing the key, and as I write this the ignition cylinder has been replaced under recall by our local dealership. I can't thank our airbnb hosts enough for all of their help with the car throughout the day, and Becca and Roger for making sure we had a way back to Boston if the car was truly dead. 

Equipment:

• Wetsuit: Exterra Vortex full
• Bike: 2012 Felt B12
• Saddle: ISM Adamo PR 1.0
• Powermeter: Power2Max Type S FSA Gossamer with 165mm cranks and 52/36 rings
• Tires/Tubes: Specialized S-Works Turbo 24mm, Vittoria latex tubes with 1oz Bontrager TLR sealant
• Hydration: One cage zip-tied between the arms, one cage behind saddle as backup 
• Nutrition storage: Dark Speed Works Speedpack 483 
• Flat kit: One tube beneath seat, C0₂ and lever taped to BTS cage, extra C0₂ taped to aero bars behind bottle
• Helmet: Giro Advantage 2
• Kit: MIT Sleeveless Top, Sugoi shorts, CEP calf sleeves
• Bike Shoes: Shimano TR60 (no socks)
• Run shoes: Newton Gravity
• Inspiration: Cyclosaur