A complete re-cap will follow shortly, but wanted to share some quick details.
It was a perfect day on all fronts. An incredible team effort featuring multiple personal accomplishments, dedicated support throughout and too many acts of kindness and love to count.
Official start was at 6:05am and we finished at 9:30pm. Actual moving times were 1:15 for the swim, 7:10 for the bike and 4:25 for the run for a total of 12:50. Add in relaxing transitions, visits with surprise guests, mechanical issues on the bike, and lots of food/water stops and we were out there for 15:30.
Details, photos and lots of appreciations soon.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
We Picked the Right Day
Chas and I zeroed in on late August for Iron Day a while back. Weather is typically starting to cool down a bit in the Berkshires by then and it's easier for folks to participate before the hectic fall school and sports schedule kicks in.
Once we settled on the weekend before Labor Day, the question was Saturday or Sunday. It was decided that Saturday would be best not just to have Sunday to recover but so that people could enjoy a gathering later that night when it was over. August 27, 2011 it was.
Then it's just out there. It's the deadline for all the training. All plans center around it. Don't want to insult all the brides out there but it's a little like your wedding date. The date is set and the weather is going to be what it's going to be. Except in this case, we always knew we had one day of flexibility. If some insane heat wave was in place on the 27th and thunderstorms were clearing them out for cool and clear weather the next day, we'd move to Sunday. Or if there was going to be a huge green mass planted over our region on Iron Day, we could move it a day.
Ten day extended forecasts are probably right about 10% of the time. When August 27 was in range, I started checking it. A lot. I can tell you the prediction would change twice a day at times. At one point, a high of 73 with clouds was predicted (perfect!) at another it was 82 and sunny (less than ideal). Last weekend, weather.com started showing the path then Tropical Storm Irene might take- it wasn't going to hit our area until after the 27th, if it made it this far at all so wasn't too worried about its impact. We know what has happened since then.
August 28th, 2011 is going to be a memorable day for all of New England as Irene cuts a swath right through our middle. If we had picked the 28th for Iron Day we would have made the call early this week that we better move it up a day. Here's the plan for today and tomorrow- wish us luck for Saturday and here's wishing you all the same for Sunday!
Once we settled on the weekend before Labor Day, the question was Saturday or Sunday. It was decided that Saturday would be best not just to have Sunday to recover but so that people could enjoy a gathering later that night when it was over. August 27, 2011 it was.
Then it's just out there. It's the deadline for all the training. All plans center around it. Don't want to insult all the brides out there but it's a little like your wedding date. The date is set and the weather is going to be what it's going to be. Except in this case, we always knew we had one day of flexibility. If some insane heat wave was in place on the 27th and thunderstorms were clearing them out for cool and clear weather the next day, we'd move to Sunday. Or if there was going to be a huge green mass planted over our region on Iron Day, we could move it a day.
Ten day extended forecasts are probably right about 10% of the time. When August 27 was in range, I started checking it. A lot. I can tell you the prediction would change twice a day at times. At one point, a high of 73 with clouds was predicted (perfect!) at another it was 82 and sunny (less than ideal). Last weekend, weather.com started showing the path then Tropical Storm Irene might take- it wasn't going to hit our area until after the 27th, if it made it this far at all so wasn't too worried about its impact. We know what has happened since then.
August 28th, 2011 is going to be a memorable day for all of New England as Irene cuts a swath right through our middle. If we had picked the 28th for Iron Day we would have made the call early this week that we better move it up a day. Here's the plan for today and tomorrow- wish us luck for Saturday and here's wishing you all the same for Sunday!
Iron Day Timeline and Logistics
Friday/Saturday, August 26 & 27, 2011
Friday, August 26
5pm- Carbo Load Dinner at Foehl home
6pm- Brooks, Tim, Chas and Taylor depart for Great Barrington
Foehl Minivan and Chas car
9pm- Lights out
Saturday, August 27
4:30am- Wake-up
6:00am- Start swim; Chas and Tim support in double kayak
From here, all times approximate!
7:15- End swim
7:30- Start bike loop one from Bock House on Route 57
Brooks, Tim, Chas; Taylor driving support vehicle
11:00- Start bike loop two from Bock House on Route 57
Brooks, Tim, Steve St. Clair; Taylor and John Denne in support vehicle.
2:30pm- Finish bike at end of Rail Trail in Pittsfield
2:45- Start Run- Taylor/John Denne Support Vehicle
Brooks, Christy Abel- 26.2
Chas-last 13
Elizabeth St. Clair
Steve St. Clair
Ann Marie Swann- last 16 miles
7:30-8pm- Finish at Chapin Circle
Thank You Cookout at Foehl home- 184 Longview Terrace
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
The Past Two Weeks
With the biking legs well covered by Pan-Mass Weekend, the last three weeks of training have consisted of topping off run and swim prep and tapering. Friday after Pan-Mass, Christy Abel and I ran a 20 miler and closed out our distance training a week later with a 13 mile run.
People ask what I find to be the easiest or most enjoyable leg of the triathlon. While training for Iron distance, I've come to realize it's the swim. The bike is the most exciting, the run most familiar, but when you're doing each of those for 6.5 and 5 hours, respectively for the Iron, 75 minutes in the water seems downright relaxing. The swim has received the least amount of focus in my training but extending the distance I can comfortably swim has been lots of fun.
Our family traveled to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont for a final few days of summer vacation in mid-August. Alison's family has been going to Highland Lodge for years- it's a perfect family retreat. In the winter, it has some of the most spectacular nordic skiing you'll find anywhere. In the summer, days are spent on Caspian Lake in Greensboro or reading on their porch. Caspian Lake was perfect for open water distance swimming and I had two 2 mile swims in a couple of days. Accompanying me was a crack team of canoeists and kayakers- father-in-law, John Denne plus Jake, Brady and Toby.
Tapering just feels weird. You know it's an important phase of training but your body and mind feel like you need to be working. I've never been great at it, but have been resting and cutting distances significantly. Did one last Greylock summit with Steve Brown, Williams '71, last Sunday. Only work this week will be a 7 mile run today, a 30 minute swim tomorrow and a short 20 mile ride on Thursday. Then it's 140.6 on Saturday.
People ask what I find to be the easiest or most enjoyable leg of the triathlon. While training for Iron distance, I've come to realize it's the swim. The bike is the most exciting, the run most familiar, but when you're doing each of those for 6.5 and 5 hours, respectively for the Iron, 75 minutes in the water seems downright relaxing. The swim has received the least amount of focus in my training but extending the distance I can comfortably swim has been lots of fun.
Our family traveled to the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont for a final few days of summer vacation in mid-August. Alison's family has been going to Highland Lodge for years- it's a perfect family retreat. In the winter, it has some of the most spectacular nordic skiing you'll find anywhere. In the summer, days are spent on Caspian Lake in Greensboro or reading on their porch. Caspian Lake was perfect for open water distance swimming and I had two 2 mile swims in a couple of days. Accompanying me was a crack team of canoeists and kayakers- father-in-law, John Denne plus Jake, Brady and Toby.
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| The Caspian Lake Swim Support Crew |
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| Me and Steve at top of Mt. Greylock |
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Pan-Mass Weekend
It's difficult to properly describe or capture the power of the Pan-Mass Challenge. It's a massive undertaking from the organizational infrastructure of volunteers responsible for the care, feeding and safety of 5,000 riders, the friends, families and strangers who offered vocal thanks and support on the route and the riders themselves. Many rode with pictures of loved ones on their backs, others rode as teams in support of individuals or specific cancer research initiatives. Cancer touches us all, but some more intimately, and rarely are its stories collectively on display in such a fashion. We had a group of eight who rode from the NY border in Williamstown, MA to the tip of Cape Cod in Provincetown, covering 300 miles in three days. I was constantly reminded throughout the journey just how lucky we all were to be together, healthy and living life to its fullest. Here's how it went.
Pan-Mass Day Zero:
The eight riders trekking the full distance across Massachusetts were: five Williams '88 classmates- me, Cary and Lew Collins, Tim Bock and Eric Churchill. Stephan Braun is a buddy of Cary and Lew's from Wellesley, Bill Higgins the same from San Francisco and Asa Beach, a buddy of Tim's brother, Terry (another Pan-Mass rider). After 17 hours together on the road, we were all close by the end. We gathered together on Thursday night at the Foehl house- Alison prepared an awesome carbo loading pasta fest for us.
We started our trip at the NY border which happens to be at the top of Petersburg Pass (Route 2). We could have rode our bikes the four miles to the top but even we knew that was stupid. We were driven up to the top by our crack support team- see picture below. Alison Mills drove Eric, Bill and Stephan out to Williamstown from Wellesley, Alison fed us on Thursday night, and most importantly, Karen Bock, was our support throughout the day on Friday, accompanying us all the way to Sturbridge.
We were 8 at the top of Petersburg Pass but we were 10 just a few miles later as we were joined by Williams employee and bad-ass rider, Todd Holland and his friend, Chris. Todd lives in Amherst and hand crafted our 110 mile route, taking us on back roads we never would have seen without him.
We took two solid breaks during our Friday ride. The first was in Ashfield at the home of Lewis' aunt and uncle. We made ourselves right at home
The second was at Todd's house which has its own covered bridge. Seriously, it's the coolest thing you've ever seen. It's in their driveway.
We were in the saddle for 6:45 and we pulled into Pan-Mass HQ in Sturbridge, MA at about 4pm. It was a long but highly memorable day.
Pan-Mass Day One:
So here's something you should know if you want to do the Pan-Mass. You have to get up really early. I set my alarm on Saturday morning for 3:30am, known to most of you as the middle of the night. Tim and I were staying at a hotel a few miles from the start and we needed to be on a 4am shuttle bus so we could get our bikes to the starting line by 4:30am. We were following the orders of Cary and Eric who are Pan-Mass veterans and know the drill. And there we were at 5:15, with thousands of other bikers, ready to start the 110 trip to Bourne, MA. We were yards away from Lance Armstrong but I didn't get a glimpse of him. He was hanging with our two Senators, would be President Kerry and dorky Scott Brown, the only person in the crowd wearing an aero-helmet. But I digress.
Our group busted out fast to stay ahead of the masses- it's still a circus. Bikers all around, almost all wearing the same shirt- it's like a Where's Waldo book come to life. Pan-Mass is a supported ride with stops about every 20 miles with all the food and drink you need to keep you going. There are two Pan-Mass starting points- Sturbridge and Wellesley and they come together at the 70 mile lunch stop. This is where we ran into this guy:
While we missed Chas on Day Zero, he was all in the rest of the weekend. We hammered away the miles in strong pace lines and arrived in Bourne at about 1pm.
Another thing you should know about the Pan-Mass- there's a lot of hanging out. With plentiful free food and beer. The Bourne base is Mass Maritime Academy and it's a big shin-dig all afternoon into the early evening. We were staying on the ship (can't believe I didn't get a picture) so we got settled there, showered and hunkered down for some quality hanging out in the festive atmosphere. This included a ruthless game of Hearts, the card came we used to play together when we had hours of kid-free hanging out time in an earlier life.
Food and beer closed down by 7:30 and folks headed off to their bunks. We were in ours by 8pm with alarms set for 4am.
Pan-Mass Day Two:
After sleeping surprisingly well in my bunk (exhaustion will do that to you), we were up and out by 4:15. It had rained heavily for a while in the night and it was still raining lightly but quite warm. We headed out in the dark at 5am, a surreal experience, particularly crossing the Bourne Bridge onto the Cape. I was worried about my legs, which had held up through the first two days but we were in uncharted territory at this point. Daylight came and we clicked off the miles of the Cape in strong pace lines taking in the natural beauty. We arrived at the finish by 10am and were showered and eating once again.
It's hard to single out moments from the weekend- the whole experience was remarkable. Whatever pride we all take in personal accomplishment, and there needs to be some, is secondary to the collective goal. There were a number of images I'll never forget. One was of the father riding a tandem bike alone, the son he lost 10 years ago with him in spirit on the back. The other was of a man riding with a small teddy bear strapped to the front of his bike. I wanted to ask who the bear belonged to but couldn't muster the heart to hear the answer.
While we were hanging out in Bourne, I noticed a commotion in a corner of the complex. Many of the survivors riding in the event were together for a Living Proof photo. Just another reminder of what the weekend was really all about.
Pan-Mass Day Zero:
The eight riders trekking the full distance across Massachusetts were: five Williams '88 classmates- me, Cary and Lew Collins, Tim Bock and Eric Churchill. Stephan Braun is a buddy of Cary and Lew's from Wellesley, Bill Higgins the same from San Francisco and Asa Beach, a buddy of Tim's brother, Terry (another Pan-Mass rider). After 17 hours together on the road, we were all close by the end. We gathered together on Thursday night at the Foehl house- Alison prepared an awesome carbo loading pasta fest for us.
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| Front row: Asa, Tim, Brooks, Cary, Lew, Stephan Back row: Bill and Eric |
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| Ned Benedict, Alison Mills, Jill Benedict, Alison, Karen Bock |
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| The group at the western MA border |
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| Lunch! |
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| Todd's Covered Bridge |
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| The team in Sturbridge |
So here's something you should know if you want to do the Pan-Mass. You have to get up really early. I set my alarm on Saturday morning for 3:30am, known to most of you as the middle of the night. Tim and I were staying at a hotel a few miles from the start and we needed to be on a 4am shuttle bus so we could get our bikes to the starting line by 4:30am. We were following the orders of Cary and Eric who are Pan-Mass veterans and know the drill. And there we were at 5:15, with thousands of other bikers, ready to start the 110 trip to Bourne, MA. We were yards away from Lance Armstrong but I didn't get a glimpse of him. He was hanging with our two Senators, would be President Kerry and dorky Scott Brown, the only person in the crowd wearing an aero-helmet. But I digress.
Our group busted out fast to stay ahead of the masses- it's still a circus. Bikers all around, almost all wearing the same shirt- it's like a Where's Waldo book come to life. Pan-Mass is a supported ride with stops about every 20 miles with all the food and drink you need to keep you going. There are two Pan-Mass starting points- Sturbridge and Wellesley and they come together at the 70 mile lunch stop. This is where we ran into this guy:
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| Brooks and Chas |
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| Williams folk in Bourne- Lew, Brooks, Tim, Chas and Cary |
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| Chas, Cary and Tim ready for Hearts in the BMW sponsored hospitality tent |
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| Tim in his bunk on the ship |
After sleeping surprisingly well in my bunk (exhaustion will do that to you), we were up and out by 4:15. It had rained heavily for a while in the night and it was still raining lightly but quite warm. We headed out in the dark at 5am, a surreal experience, particularly crossing the Bourne Bridge onto the Cape. I was worried about my legs, which had held up through the first two days but we were in uncharted territory at this point. Daylight came and we clicked off the miles of the Cape in strong pace lines taking in the natural beauty. We arrived at the finish by 10am and were showered and eating once again.
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| The Three Day Team at the other end of the state- Bill, Brooks, Lewis, Tim, Stephan, Cary and Eric |
While we were hanging out in Bourne, I noticed a commotion in a corner of the complex. Many of the survivors riding in the event were together for a Living Proof photo. Just another reminder of what the weekend was really all about.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Training Buddies
As we all work toward our training goals, we slog out countless hours by ourselves alone with nature or accompanied by the music in our headphones. Personal motivation is the key to accomplishing any goal, but it sure helps to have people with you along the way. Workout buddies motivate us, ensure we get our butts out of bed in the morning, make the miles/time fly by and best of all, enrich our lives. I've been fortunate to have great training buddies along the way- Kevin Moon at George School, Libby Macartney and Nancy Byrne at Millbrook School, Tom Kaegi and Dave Paulsen earlier in Williamstown and Anne Marie Swann and Christy Abel, among others, more recently. Here's a little bit about some of them:
If you want people to model your life after, look no further than Steve and Elizabeth St. Claire. They're Williams grads in their early 50's and they're complete bad-asses. Marathoners, triathletes, golfers, they do it all together and with a level of enthusiasm and joie de vivre that infects those around them. Truth be told, I haven't done much with them at all but simply knowing they're out there is motivation in itself. Elizabeth is training for her first Half Iron in September and Steve will join her. They're on board for Iron Day and have been supportive since day one. We went for an open water swim last week and will get in a few more of those in the coming weeks.
Another person who is all in for Iron Day is Christy Abel. Christy is an athletic trainer, mom to three adorable kids and wife of Rob Abel, Williams '91. She's a multiple time marathoner, currently training for the Montreal Marathon in late September and an amazing companion on the long training runs we've both needed to endure. She's planning to do all 26.2 with me on Iron Day and will be invaluable to my survival on many fronts (I mentioned she's an athletic trainer, right?). Funny story. Last week, we ran 19 miles on a muggy, warm morning. At the end, she was leading me through a couple hamstring stretches. First couple went fine then she said to try a different one. I went to do the stretch and my hamstring immediately seized up- I let out a yelp and was hopping around on one leg trying to make the cramp go away. This was obviously quite funny to Christy who started laughing. Pretty hard. Until the muscles in her rib cage started to seize up and cramp. This was obviously quite funny to me so I started laughing and my muscles seized up, too. So here we are laughing hysterically while shouting "ow, ow, ow, ow"- wish we had it on video.
If you want people to model your life after, look no further than Steve and Elizabeth St. Claire. They're Williams grads in their early 50's and they're complete bad-asses. Marathoners, triathletes, golfers, they do it all together and with a level of enthusiasm and joie de vivre that infects those around them. Truth be told, I haven't done much with them at all but simply knowing they're out there is motivation in itself. Elizabeth is training for her first Half Iron in September and Steve will join her. They're on board for Iron Day and have been supportive since day one. We went for an open water swim last week and will get in a few more of those in the coming weeks.
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| Trust me, you want to be Elizabeth or Steve St. Claire |
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| Christy and Brooks before a 19 mile run |
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