Cassadagaman 2020: The Amazing Race

Well, THAT escalated quickly.

Like most of my racing stories, this one started rather innocently with some healthy grousing about the lack of 2020 races.  As I've said several times, I'm aware that not being able to race this year has been a first world problem, but I also know that I can, in fact, mourn the loss of "normal" as long as it's in proper perspective.  And as someone that's spent every summer since 2005 with triathlon on the brain (yes, even through my two pregnancies!) 2020 in terms of my "swim, bike, run" play was severely lacking.  I was lucky enough to be able to start training again with some of my buddies - many rides with The Boy, a few with the Banter, and a great training week with the Outlaw.  But. No. Races.

You see where this is going.  Last month, a somewhat local triathlon club/coach put on a sprint and Olympic distance event - I debated signing up, but something stopped me.  Was a COVID race going to be anywhere near the same as a "normal" race?  I had no idea.  I decided against the race.  I found out afterwards it was run rather well and the few people I knew that did it really enjoyed it.  Seed planted.

On August 23rd, I was supposed to be racing in my fourth Ironman, at Mt. Tremblant.  Instead of racing, I met up with the Banter and did a long ride (oddly fitting, as we both were supposed to be "Ironmanning".)  Well, it was supposed to be a long ride. But it's 2020, right??  Instead we had a mechanical at mile 10 and ended up fixing it and sitting in a park for three hours discussing life and then riding home.  I was interested in seeing how I would handle a 50 miler.  Instead, I got some perspective about the rest of my season and of course, life.  (Seriously, how did I get so lucky to have this guy as a friend and coach??)  Post ride, I immediately began thinking about my 2021 goals and how I might get a jump on those...once again, reshuffling my 2020 "season".  That Friday, I met up with my buddy Fred and did the 50 mile ride then. More seeds planted. 

So, the same tri club that put on the sprint and Olympic race in August was doing a Half Ironman on September 5th - the Inaugural "Cassadagaman".  It featured 4000 feet of climbing on the bike (harder than a loop of Placid) and almost 1000 on the run (ditto).  My 50 mile bike that I had just completed had 1700 ft of "climbing".  I had run, um, 13 miles a few times this year.  This was doable, right?

As a precursor to most of my recent bad decisions in life, I immediately called up the Outlaw, who has plenty of experience talking me into horrible ideas.  I ran it by him and he pointed out the cat 4 hills on the course, the timeline, and general idiocy of such a decision to race.  Followed up by, of course, he was in to do it.  Excellent.  So, with five days to spare, we both hit the "register" button and were committed (in more ways than one?)  First race since January 1, which was a 7.5 mile run.  First tri of the season.  A hilly Half Ironman.  What could possibly go wrong?? (So very 2020, no?)

Me and the Outlaw.  Intelligent decisions are not our forte, but we are fun!

With five days notice, I made the quick choice to control what I could: I would gain no benefit whatsoever with any more last minute training.  So I set up a very abbreviated taper, focused on rest, hydration, and nutrition (which in general, I suck at).  Of course, it was the last week of summer and the weekend before my daughter's birthday party, as well as our busiest season at work.  Which means my five days of rest comprised of menu planning for a party of twenty, shopping, gift wrapping, school shopping, and enough Zoom meetings at work to choke a small country (I did ask for a few 3am meetings.  They thought I was kidding.  I...wasn't).  Somehow, it all got done, including last minute snafus with bike brakes and a few training glitches. I managed to pack for the race (why do tris always require enough crap for a week vacation??) , and Friday afternoon I ventured out toward Cassadaga to meet up with the Outlaw and plan my last will and testament do a little course recon.

Packet pick up was super super easy and we checked out the lake first.  Flat, beautiful, and with almost no swims this year, 2000m would not be fast, but it would be fun!  The bike was....uh....yeah.  We drove the two looped course with careful attention to directions (marked well), road quality (meh) and hills.  We felt it was TOTALLY doable until about mile 4 when the WTF settled in.  The hills were pretty gnarly and never ending.  I had some race goals in mind - a 40:00 swim, a 3:15 bike and a 2:00 run - for an overall time of hopefully under 6 hours.  This was by far not anywhere close to my PR of 5:18, but with the elevation and my lack of distance training, seemed maybe doable.  Then we got to the run course.  They say what goes up must come down but I seriously think that adage doesn't apply in Cassadaga.  The 13.1 miles was clearly more like 20 miles (perhaps in 2020 20 is the new 13.1?) and I was quite confident that there were no downhills.  FUN.  But hey, YOLO, and even though we knew we were gonna die, we would go down swinging.

My new boyfriend, Aero.  Clearly I need more of him in my life!

Post course recon, we headed back to the Outlaw's house about an hour away.  I hadn't hung out with him in over a month, so my idea of a fun vacation is to go to PA for a night then do a half Ironman.  I'm not that bright.  But we knew that.  We washed his bike, ate dinner, chatted about all things tri and life, and I tried to steal his cat.  I think it almost worked.  He digresses. Clearly, I'll have to go back to prove my point on this.  

Race morning dawned super early, as always.  I think I slept about two hours and had the weirdest dreams.  We showered, grabbed breakfast, and were on the road by 445, to the race site by 545.  We got body marked (OMG some normalcy....though it was weird to say I was 38....we joked that in 2020, did anyone actually age up??), hit the potty about a dozen times, and fumbled our way through transition set up.  I swear I forgot how to do this, and the whole placed buzzed with nervous, excited energy.  The field was capped at 150 and due to COVID, we had to wear masks but had plenty of bike space!!  We shivered, checked tires, tried to drink Gatorade, caught up with a few friends, then headed to the lake for a quick dip.  Which was a HUGE mistake.  The water felt great and then we were directed out and back to transition for a pre race meeting where we turned to ice cubes.  The outlaw, myself and our buddy Zach joked about doing a relay - Zach swimming, the outlaw biking and me running.  Pity that one fell through, but after a rousing pre race pep talk by the RD (this guy was already awesome in my books - you could see the attention to detail and love for the sport in everything he did.  I met him for 5 minutes the day before and he knew my name already - he also gave a spectacular pre race prep with an athlete guide and youtube videos of the course).  This was the INAUGURAL race and one of the few 70.3's in the country in 2020....holy crap.  We were making history.  IF we survived.

Swim - 33:58 (1:47/100yd)
We hit the water just before 8am in our little spermy caps (dubbed by the Outlaw).  The men went off at 8:00 and the women at 8:03.  Before I knew it, I was treading water, watch poised and we heard GO!  And we were off.  The first few minutes were a bit crazy (I seed myself aggressively, as I can handle the swim scrum) and about 300m in, we started to settle in.  There was one woman right to my right, and we managed to trade leads for most of the swim - swimming right next to her the whole time and for the most part, breathing and arms in sync.  This never happens to me and it was kinda fun tradiing the pull with her - I hoped I wasn't being annoying but it felt awesome.  My watch beeped 500m in, which seemed to take about 5 years and I thought "Holy crap, what the hell am I doing - how am I going to last 70.3 miles???  I'm not trained for this".  Then I told my brain to shut up and enjoyed the water.  The rest of the swim was pretty uneventful - it was pretty seaweedy (spa experience) and about halfway through I remembered that I forgot to set my garmin varia and made a note to do so in T1.  I peed about four times (sorry) and before I knew it, I spotted the swim exit.  Hit the mat in 33:58 (OMG WHAT?) and realized quickly the swim was a bit short - but I smashed my goal of 40:00 and I started to think maybe I could pull off this sub 6 (uh, cause this was TOTALLY the time to decide that with five plus hours to go) as I headed for my bike!

Bike: 3:20:12 (16.8 mph)
I'll definitely admit my transitions suffered with lack of racing!  I felt slightly drunk as I grabbed all my bike crap, thankfully remembered to turn on my Garmin varia (car detector) and then stuck my feet in my bike shoes, to find out I had left hair ties in them.  Oops.  That wouldn't be fun for 3 hours!  Shook em out, ran my bike to the mount line, and was off!  

I noticed right away I had water in my left ear, so I shook it out....no go.  Eff.  This made hearing cars interesting, but luckily I have a little detector that beeps when one passes, so it was all good.  I felt a little off, but I laughed to myself and said, welp, maybe this is your issue on the bike!  I can handle that.  The first 5 miles passed rather quickly - I drank, slammed a gel, and kept mind to spin out at 85 rpms as much as possible.  With the rolling hills that made for a LOT of shifting, but since I've spent plenty of time working on just that, I felt good.  We hit the first hill about mile 5 and as I ascended I thought...well, this isn't too bad.  I selected an easier gear (YES IN THE SMALL CHAIN RING) and spun up as I heard.....gunshots? in the background.  OMFG.  Hunters on the course?  I was legit freaked out and then talked myself into a positive light....hey, just gotta get out of here quicker!  The last part of the uphill was a left turn that was unmanned and very gravelly, so I took it easy and then geared down for a nice speedy descent.

Except...holy hell.  In my quest to survive the uphills, I forgot I would have some speedy descents!  My coach warned me yesterday and brought up my lack of balls descending skills on the bike, and it bit me in the butt here.  I feathered the brakes a bit, hit 46 instead of 55, and was back on the road.  I was passed by a few people here and then gained back on them on the next flats and hills.  One rider from the Cleveland Tri club who I dubbed "Cleveland" cause I'm clever like that, leapfrogged with me the whole bike - we would yell out CLEVELAND! or ROCHESTER! as we passed each other (I later found out she was the woman I swam with, and she loved it - we are now Facebook BFF's and probably will announce our wedding next year :-P)

The next 5-6 miles were pretty uneventful, except for a small downhill where a deer ran out in front of me and scared the crap out of me - I knew where there is one deer, there are usually more, so I slowed and thankfully had no Bambi crashes.  Then we hit the big hill.  Holy mother of anything I have ever climbed.  I tried in vain to find a smaller gear.  No luck.  At this point, the rain (WHAT RAIN) hit, and continued for the next hour.  This cooled us off and wasn't an issue on the uphill, but the twisty downhill portion was another story, and while I wasn't white knuckling, I certainly gave away some speed in my lack of descending skill in the rain.  The last major hill of the loop (the course was a 2 looper - 28 miles each) was on a four lane highway, where I was SUPER glad to have my varia.  Traffic was actually pretty decent for a Saturday morning and this road had plenty of Semis.  Finished loop one in just under 1:40 and I realized my 3:15 bike split was a little iffy.  I took the first loop really easy, but without a doubt this was a much harder course than Placid (and later verified by the pro that did it as the hardest 70.3 she had ever done).  

Loop two was pretty uneventful save for the end of the rain and the beginning of the winds.  There were pretty decent winds at about 15 mph that never ended up being tailwinds, and a few gusts that blew me all over the road.  Thankfully, again having a device that alerted me to cars was a lifesaver, and I remembered to "play" with the wind a bit.  Nonetheless, I didn't descend very well with a crosswind, and need to work on that.  I'm also quite confident the RD inflated the hills the second time around (such a party trick!) and I debated getting off my GD bike and walking the big hill.  But, I'm stubborn ....errrr....tough.  So I gutted it out.  I took care to drink and to take in nutrition, and will say that I have never fueled so well in a race or shifted as well, either.  My legs felt the hills, but I cruised into T2 with a 3:20 bike split after 4000 feet of climbing and basically covering all the seasons in one ride.  Hey, its 2020 right?  I dismounted my bike without incident (I actually got a compliment on my smooth dismount, which, frankly, I would like in writing next time, as we know my history of falling on my ass in T2)....and headed out for my FAVORITE part, the run! 

Run: 1:56:59 (8:48)

I saw my buddy Cleveland as I headed out to the course and we fist bumped.  I knew how hilly this course was so my plan was to average 9 minute miles for a 2 hour run split - to walk the uphills and run the flats and downs.  I took off at an easy pace and found another member of the Cleveland Tri club about a quarter mile in - she told me I was her "Beacon of Light" on the bike with my varia, and we talked about how cool they were and how much fun this race was, even with the hills.  She urged me on and since my pace was a bit faster, I went with it, wishing her luck.  Hit mile 1 in 8:48 which seemed about right, and with aid stations every mile, I decided to do water at each station and go for a gel every half hour or so.  My stomach was feeling good and legs not too bad!  I checked my watch and saw that a 2:01 run split would keep me under 6 hours, but there was no sense in projecting anything until at least mile 7, so I shelved that and went off effort.  

I came across a runner about a mile and a half in that looked legit like he was dancing down the course - he ran on his toes and made it look effortless.  We chatted for a minute or two and I told him how awesome he looked - since the course was three out and backs (all different branches) we saw each other six times and the name "Twinkle Toes" stuck.  I managed miles 2-4 at about an 8 minute mile - probably too fast but stuck to my run/walk really well from mile 2 on.  I counted three women in front of me and was gobsmacked to be in 4th place - WHAT??  They were all pretty far ahead of me so I had no ideas of snagging third, but it definitely reminded me that with a sick bike split, I would be in contention.  2021 goals, baby.  I'm working on it!

At mile 5, the massive hills hit.  There were a few women behind me that were definitely ones that could catch me, but I ran my own race - joked with the volunteers about possibly knocking down some hills, power walked the steep parts, and kept in a steady flow of water and gu. I joked with anyone that would talk to me, and made a bunch of new friends on the course.  I was told countless times how happy I looked (yeah, I know, that's about right) but I was struck by how freaking lucky I was to be out there - even though this course played to none of my strengths, I was not trained for it, and I hurt - I was so. damned. lucky. to be out here, doing what I love.  And I just kept grinning like a silly girl.  I didn't care.  This was what it was all about.

The next 5 miles averaged about an 8:45-9:00 mile, save for a huge hill at mile 8, and then mile 11 as well.  I got passed by one woman here - the only person that passed me on the run.  With two miles to go, I was sitting at 5:35 and I figured a sub 6 was totally in the bag.  I kicked it in for the last mile, passed the final aid station who called out I was 5th and looked "Frickin fabulous!" and to go catch the boys.  Well, sure.  I can do that.  Hit mile 13 in 1:53 and realized the course was kinda long, but hey, extra mileage for my dollars!  I sped up and saw the Outlaw ahead who yelled out "RAE, when are you gonna RUN???"  Eff you, Outlaw, I'm running a 6 minute mile.  I flipped him the bird (yes, we got this on video) and ran it in for a 5:55:42 finish!

Post Race

Post race I caught up with my buddies, new and old.  The Outlaw crushed his goal and came in at 4:52:xx and told me all about his splits (calm down, buddy, let me breathe LOL).  I gave him a GIANT hug as he came in 4th overall!  Our buddy Zach came in under 7 hours, which was also his goal!

While I missed the podium, I came in 5th woman and the Outlaw and I both won our Age Groups - sweet!  I chatted with the Cleveland Tri Club (I think I'm an honorary member now) hung out for awards, snarfed a cheeseburger, and headed home.  

While I had a few thoughts about things I could have done better (descending, aero) overall I am super pleased with this race.  MY twelve day triathlon season of 2020 was a success!  My two goals were to go under 6 hours at a tough course and not be able to walk the next day.  Both achieved.  Winning.  The outlaw and I joked that we must be on a 2020 race streak, as we both raced New Year's day and then now. Apparently that means I'm in for two more half marathons and a half Ironman.  Well....we will see :-)

As far as Cassadagaman, I will say, hands down, this was an amazing race.  It featured every element you could imagine, with every kind of weather.  The course was gorgeous, the people friendly, the RD amazing.  I also hands down endorse any race run by Mark Wilson, the RD.  His love and excitement is infectious (can we even say that during a pandemic???) and he gave me something I won't forget....a beacon of hope in 2020.  A small moment of "normal".  A chance to swim, bike, run and play with my friends.  A MUCH needed stress relief.  And all in one weekend.  THANK YOU!