Late 2010 Updates: Steven L. did some additional things

Hey y'all - I ran the Giant Acorn Triathlon back in October. For the second year in a row, I chose the Olympic-distance option. I cut off about 7 minutes from my previous time!! (Completed in 2:40:44). Much of that time off came from the run, where I actually stopped to heed the call of nature. Despite the time lost from stopping, I was able to run significantly faster after doing so...A trick to keep in mind for future races. Per tradition, I stayed at Lat-Man's crib in Richmond for the rest of the weekend. Per more tradition, we did the pipeline walk on the river.







Additionally, I did the Turkey Chase 10K again, making my 5th consecutive appearance. I posted a 46:56 for that, which is a PR!

Steven L. Completes Diamond in Rough

Hello Norsaites - I did the Diamond in the Rough for the 3rd year in a row. This year it was converted to a Duathlon because the race began in the middle of a brutal thunderstorm, canceling the swim portion. The race began with a 2.7 mile run (replacing the 1-mile swim), and continued with the typical 27-mile bike and 5 mile run. It never stopped raining throughout the entire race, resulting in my hands being thoroughly pruned and my ankles bleeding from chaffing. Fortunately, it was summer and still quite warm outside. Despite the weather, I improved my bike time over last year (which I attribute to finally getting clipless pedals) and also improved my 5-mile run time (which I attribute to the cooling effect of the rain). Few things are more fun than running in the rain; in all, it was an A+ day!

Steven Completes 2010 Rumpus in Bumpass Sprint

Steven completed the 2010 Rumpus in Bumpass Sprint on April 18. It was fun. You should join him for a race.

Giant Acorn 2009

I competed in the Giant Acorn International Triathlon on Saturday, October 3, 2009. I previously competed in the Giant Acorn Sprint in 2006 and 2008. Since this race was double the length of the Sprint, it made up for missing the Sprint in 2007.

The addition of an international-distance (aka Olympic) race proved to be immensely popular. 295 men and 165 women competed in the event, which helped ease registration on the Sprint, which was held on Sunday. In previous years, the Sprint has sold out months in advance of the race. This year, the Sprint still sold out, but only weeks ahead of the race.

The swim course for the International was at the southern end of Lake Anna in Bumpass, VA. It took swimmers around a grassy peninsula, which allowed spectators to see the entire swim from one point. The bike was 2 laps of the Sprint course. This was helpful because bikers could memorize the course their first time around.

The run was on a different road from previous years. It was hillier and even included an off-road portion through the woods. My swim and bike times were on par with my performance at the Nation’s Triathlon; however, the hilly run seemed to take its toll. I finished the race in 2:47:08, which was good enough to place 167 of 295 men, and 23 of 34 in my Age Group. All in all, it was a good time. Enjoy the photos.

2009 Nation's Triathlon a Great Success!!

A record-setting 8 NORSA members and affiliates competed in the 4^th Annual Nation’s Triathlon. This was the third consecutive appearance by NORSA-mainstays Steven L., and Adam. They were joined by Matt, Leo and Russ, who each finished their second Nations Tri. Newcomers this year included Mike, Brian and Marie.

The Nation’s Triathlon is a Standard Olympic-Distance race. It consists of a 1500 meter (0.93 Mile) Swim, a 40 kilometer (24.85 mile) Bike, and a 10 kilometer (6.21 mile) Run. The Nation’s Triathlon is one of the biggest triathlons around. While 6000 people registered, 3933 actually competed in and finished this year’s race. The attrition is probably due to the fact that the race sells out months before the competition. When race day arrives, many competitors FTA due to scheduling problems they couldn’t foresee months in advance, as well as regular sickness, injury, etc.

Like last year, all competitors had to go to a few events before the race. Packet pickup was at the Washington Hilton on Friday and Saturday. There is no packet pickup on race day because the logistics of distributing 1000’s of packets in the hours before the race would be mind-boggling. Additionally, competitors were required to leave their bikes at the race site the day before the event. This allowed many competitors to take shuttles to the race site from the host hotel.

The weather for this year’s race was perfect: mostly sunny skies with a high of 83 and a low of 63 for the day. The race was started at 7:00AM, so the NORSAites got to compete in that perfect 70-degree range.

This year’s course was modified slightly from the previous year. Competitors swam in the Potomac under the Memorial Bridge. The water this year was a little browner and a little less clear than in previous races. The water temp was about 71 degrees. Most competitors wore wetsuits, most NORSA members did not.

Between events, competitors had to find their bikes in the mega-massive transition area (see photo). Hopefully, they remembered their row number.

The bike took racers into Rock Creek Park, up the Whitehurst Freeway, then out-and-back on Canal Road, the Clara Barton Parkway, and the Cabin John Parkway. This course was heavily shaded (good), but may have been a little narrow for so many competitors.

The run was around Haines Point and the Tidal Basin. As the race expands each year, there seems to be less of an ability to host it on the Mall. There was no Pennsylvania Avenue Finish this time. However, traffic in the city was significantly less affected and racers were able to finish next to the transition area, rather than miles away as in previous years.

Results:

How long is a race of this magnitude supposed to take, you ask? Well, the overall winner finished with a time of 1:55:59. Mayor Adrian Fenty finished with a time of 2:21:18. The last competitors crossed the line around the 5-hour mark.

Everybody on the NORSA-squad finished with these highly respectable times:

This year, Russ again came out on top, with an overall time of 2:33:23. He was followed by Steven L. (2:40:57); Leo (2:50:08); Marie (2:50:15); Matt (2:52:40); Mike (2:54:49); Adam (2:57:41) and Brian (3:08:51). Complete results with splits are available here.

Congratulations to all the NORSA members who competed in this year’s race and thanks to the family and friends who came for support! I hope you all enjoyed this year’s post, which unlike last year's post, contains more than 2 paragraphs, more than 1 picture, and has hyperlinks, results, descriptions and adjectives.

Luray Sprint Triathlon

On Sunday, August 16, veteran NORSA members Matt W., Russ M., Jon S., and Leo W. joined newly minted NORSA members Brian B. and Mike L. to compete in the Luray Sprint Triathlon in Luray, VA. This was a challenging race consisting of a 750 meter swim in Arrowhead Lake, a 16 mile bike through the rolling hills of the Shenandoah Valley, and a 5K run.

DITRT 2009 Recap

On Saturday, July 11, 2009, Steven L. completed his second Diamond in the Rough Triathlon, while proudly wearing his NORSA jersey. The DITRT is a compromised Olympic-distance Triathlon, consisting of a 1 mile (1600k) Swim, a 27 Mile (43.5k) Bike and a 5 Mile (8k) Run. Steven was able to cut about 8 ½ minutes from his 2008 race time, finishing in 2:47:15. Complete Results.

About 450 competitors met in Perryville, MD, located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay. The swim was full of itchy grass and competitive athletes who weren’t afraid to push others out of their way. Yet again, Steven found himself lacking a wet suit, and hopes NORSA will obtain one for him in the next fiscal year. The bike took competitors through rolling countryside. Steven remembered this bike course from last year, so the mile-long hell-climb at mile 20 was no surprise to him. The run was a flat out-and-back along the river, which was accompanied by a steady breeze coming off the water.

Competitors were parked-in until roads re-opened, so the post-race party was large and fun. Your typical race fare was provided, including roast-beef and turkey sandwiches and fruit. Steven had a great time at this mid-summer race, and he hopes other NORSA members will sack-up and join him next year!

Matt White Actually Delivers on Promised NORSA Article (Also: Team NORSA Competes in 25th Annual Colonial Beach Triathlon)

On Saturday, July 11, Team NORSA competed in the 25th annual Colonial Beach Triathlon in Colonial Beach, VA. Undeterred by the possibility of contracting Vibrio from swimming in a tidal area of the Potomac River, returning NORSA triathletes Leo Weitzenhoff and Matt White teamed up with potential new NORSA members Mike Louis and Brian Barrett to compete in this event. The sprint-distance triathlon consisted of a 750 meter swim in the Potomac River, a 14 mile bike through backcountry roads in the Colonial Beach area, and a 5 kilometer run along the bank of the Potomac.

The swim course consisted of one loop around triangle of buoys in the river. Although Team NORSA encountered no major difficulties during the swim, returning triathletes Leo and Matt found the river in the Colonial Beach area to be, overall, saltier, nastier, and harder to see through than the upstream portions swam during the Nation's Triathlon in the Washington, D.C. area.

The bike course was flat and straight, but with a surprising twist - the road was not closed to vehicle traffic during the race. Although volunteers and county sheriff's deputies were directing traffic at a few of the intersections, the triathletes often found themselves sharing the 2 lane road with semis and tour buses going 55 mph. Although Matt finished the swim course 30 seconds ahead of Leo, Leo caught up on the bike portion and finished the bike course two-tenths of a second faster than Matt.

The run course was also flat and straight, with a few drunken neighborhood spectators cheering on the athletes (at 8:00 in the morning). Leo opened up his lead here, finishing the race with an overall time of 1:26:21, an improvement over his previous sprint time at the 2007 Sandman Triathlon in Virginia Beach. Matt also improved on his previous performance at the Sandman with an overall time of 1:29:14. First-time triathletes Mike and Brian also made Team NORSA proud with overall times of 1:39:57 and 1:45:01.

Following the race, Team NORSA joined other Colonial Beach triathletes for a healthy breakfast of pizza, beer, and cookies at the local American Legion post. Fun was had by all and Leo, Matt, Mike, and Brian report that they will soon compete in another triathlon (the Luray Sprint on Sunday, August 16).

Cascade Lake Sprint

On Sunday, May 31, I finished the Cascade Lake Triathlon in Hampstead, MD. The race was organized by Piranha Sports, which also runs the Diamond in the Rough and Diamondman events. This sprint distance race consisted of a 500M Swim, a 24K Bike and a 5K Run.

I had to wake up at 4:30 a.m. and drive a little over an hour to make the 7 a.m. start time. I have found that it is a good idea to show up to race sites about an hour early to account for traffic, packet pickup, body marking and bathroom lines. I don’t need to leave time for a shower because taking a shower before participating in an athletic event is a pointless gesture.


During most of the drive it was raining lightly and I even saw some flashes of lightning in the distance. However, by the time I reached Hampstead, located in north-central Maryland, the weather was almost clear. By the time the race ended the sky was completely clear.

The swim took place in a small yet surprisingly clear lake. There were water slides, but we were not allowed to use them to begin the race. The water temp was measured at 71 degrees (and it is a pretty solid estimate that the air temp was 60 at the beginning of the race at 7, and about 80 by noon). Once again, I found myself as one of the few competitors without a wetsuit. I hear they make you swim faster, so I may begin saving up for one. I was able to finish the 500M swim in 11:39. The bike was a 24K loop. It was an extremely hilly course that went mainly through farmland and occasionally woods. I finished the bike in 53:50. The 5K Run was a 2-loop out-and-back, which ended with a long, steep hill. Not many people sprinted to the finish line of this race. My 5K time was 25:27.


Overall, I finished in 1:33:10, which was good enough to place 9th of 25 in my age group and 90th of 348 overall. See the complete results.

After the race sandwiches and drinks were available, and llamas and sheep ran through the parking area. On my drive home, I stopped at a Shell station for gas – the usual post-race shenanigans that follow most triathlons.

2009 Triathlons Added to NORSA Calendar

Anybody interested in running a triathlon this year can check out the freshly updated NORSA calendar of potential events (a permanent link is also to your right -->).

Two races in which NORSA members have previously competed in, the Kinetic Sprint and the Sandman Sprint, have been moved to new weekends this year. The Kinetic Sprint has been moved back 2 weeks and is now held in May. The Sandman Sprint has been moved back 1 week and no longer interferes with the Nation's Triathlon.

On a sad note, the Yorktown Sprint, which has been a NORSA mainstay, has been cancelled. Setupevents offered the following explanation on their website:

"Yorktown Sprint: Many of you have noticed the Yorktown Sprint is no longer happening. The Yorktown Council changed their permitting procedures to give them the ability to only allow events that fit with their vision of the Yorktown waterfront area. Unfortunately, despite the tremendous success of the Yorktown Triathlon it no longer fit with their vision." [http://www.setupevents.com/?fuseaction=events&series=vts]

2008 Giant Acorn Sprint

On Saturday, October 4, 2008, NORSA sachem Steve completed the Giant Acorn Triathlon, which is a standard sprint distance race (750 Meter Swim, 20K Bike, 5K Run). This is the second time Steven has run the Giant Acorn, the first being in 2006. The race was held at Lake Anna in Bumpass, Virginia. [Matt – the essential information has now been disseminated. You may stop reading here, or “hang up the phone” if you want. “OK. Got to go. Bye.” *click*]

Although the race began at the appealing time of 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, Steven decided to leave the Baltimore-Washington area on Friday so that he could go to the early packet-pickup and hang out with friend Andrew “Lat-man” Latimer, who resides in Richmond.

The drive to Lake Anna takes one off of I-95 and onto a nice series of country roads. After hugging some nice curves, Steven arrived at the Lake Anna Beach Marina and picked up his race number. In the first of several coincidences, Steven discovered that his race number was 429 – which is his birthday: April 29.

After picking up his race number, Steven had time to spare and decided to drive over the bike course so that he would be nice and familiar with it on race day. The bike course was a counter-clockwise square that consisted of gently rolling countryside. The views were great with 4 water crossings over Lake Anna.

So familiarized, Steven continued on his country drive before finally rejoining I-95, almost already in Richmond. Upon arrival, Steven met Andrew, who lives in his 3rd converted warehouse loft (this one made “paper boxes of every description” – see below).

The weather was perfect on race day: 75F and sunny. The lake, which is heated by a nuclear power plant, was 74 degrees. In a second coincidence, Steven’s car odometer rolled over to 40,000 miles when he parked at the race site.

Wearing his ridiculous NORSA jersey (without anybody there to make him!), Steven completed the race in 1:21:37. This was exactly 8 minutes faster than his 2006 performance (1:29:37). He placed 16th of 44 in his age group and 143 of 339 men. Steven improved in every category over his 2006 race. His second transition time is noteworthy at 37 seconds - 1st overall in his age group and 3rd overall of the men. Age Group Results.

The majority of the competitors were parked in until 1:00, which made the post race party large and fun. Two huge vats of Chili were cooked for all of the 650 competitors. When the crowds began to thin, Steven went back to Richmond and accompanied Andrew and his girlfriend to an Italian Street Festival. After eating, Andrew had to go to a football game. Steven, meanwhile, decided to go to Richmond’s best hot tub at Andrew’s former apartment building.

Steven had to get into the pool using his best James Bond skills. He entered the apartments through the freight elevator in the back of the building, then changed into his bathing suit in the main elevator. Emerging from the elevator with a towel over his neck and his sandals on, Steven pretended to talk on his cell phone (ask Tom about Steven’s fake telephone conversation skills) until he could follow somebody into the locked gym-pool area. The hut tub was nice, and the accompanying pool was the expected frigid 60 degrees, making for some nice hot-cold recovery cycles.

All in all, the Giant Acorn is probably Steven’s favorite race. It is held when the weather is just right, the smell of fall is in the air, and the leaves are beginning to change. Steven definitely plans on competing next year and hopes to see some more NORSA support!

Also, thanks to Setupevents for another smoothly run event.

Team NORSA Wins One for the Gipper at the Nation's Triathlon in Washington, DC

On Sunday, September 14, Team NORSA tore down another wall by finishing the Nation's Triathlon. NORSA veterans Adam, Steve, Matt White, Leo Weitzenhoff, and Jon Spurlock were joined by NORSA newbie Russ Morton for this olympic-distance triathlon running through downtown Washington, D.C. The race started with a 1.5 kilometer swim through the AIDS-infested waters of the Potomac river, followed by a 40 kilometer bike up and down the Clara Barton parkway and a 10 kilometer run (or walk, for some) around Hains point and the Mall, finishing up on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Newcomer Russ Morton stunned the rest of Team NORSA by coming in with the best time on the team. He was followed by Leo Weitzenhoff, Steve, Jon Spurlock, Adam, and Matt White. This was a special day for Matt, who almost beat the guy in the wheelchair. Almost.

Team NORSA Featured on Nation's Triathlon Main Web Page

Another groundbreaking feat was accomplished by Team NORSA when member Steve appeared on the Nation's Triathlon main web page. The web page cycles through a group of pictures at random, and sometimes, Steven shows up. Neat-o!

140.6 Miles - Team NORSA Completes IRONMAN Louisville!

Team NORSA has reached new heights. On Sunday, August 31st, 2008, at 7:22 AM, tri-team members Alan Stewart and Adam hopped into the Ohio River in Louisville Kentucky to culminate a long year of training. Over 14 hours later, they were Ironmen.

They both signed up for this grueling day on September 13, 2007. Since that day, they swam, ran, and biked their way through training injuries, miles of pavement, and countless laps in pools and lakes. Training involved swimming in the NC State pool and nearby Lake Jordan, running half and full marathons, and spending hours on the bike - both in the frigid cold and the blistering sun. As of three weeks ago, they were as strong as they were going to be. The final long workouts were scheduled before beginning a two-week taper in timid anticipation of race day.

On Thursday at noon, the team departed Raleigh (along with supporters Taylor Hinson and EYE of the World member Anna Blount - they were later joined in Louisville by NORSA veteran Julie Brockman) in the decorated team car, and drove nine hours to northwest Kentucky.

Friday and Saturday were spent registering, prepping gear, checking in equipment, and previewing the bike and run courses by car. After a final carb-loaded dinner Saturday night, the racers went to catch a few hours of sleep. They awoke at 4:30 in the morning, made their way down to the transition area to do final preps to the bikes, and then headed to the swim start.

This race is unique in that the age groupers have an individual time-trial start. Instead of a mass start which features much unintentional grabbing, kicking, and fondling in the water, the racers stepped over a timing mat one by one before jumping in the water. The swim was a 2.4 mile up and back in the Ohio river. The water temperature was 83 degrees making it non-wetsuit legal (which are allowed up to 78 degrees and help with buoyancy).

Out of the swim and into the transition area, racers were handed a bag with their bike apparel and headed to a changing tent where helpful volunteers took their swim gear and sprayed the racers with sunscreen.

Leaving the transition area, bikers headed northeast for 112 miles in the rolling hills of Kentucky horse country. Temperatures were in the mid-90s with a triple-digit heat-index. Both the hills and heat took their toll on the racers, but were fortunately supported by 9 aid stations and 1 special needs bag hand-off. The two-lap course passed through a thick cheering crowd in the town of LaGrange twice before beginning the 30 mile descent back to Louisville.

Special note needs to be given to the Team NORSA IRONMAN support team featuring Alan's parents Dawn and Paul, Alan's sister Tana, Adam's parents Piotr and Maria, SWH3 member Doug/A.C., and of course, the 'That's What She Said" cheering squad of Julie, Taylor, and Anna. Seeing them at the transitions, in LaGrange, and throughout the run course was incredibly motivating.

This motivation came in greatest need on the run. After a beautiful and fast bike, the racers changed into running shoes and began the final portion of the event. They headed out to cheers of "You're almost done!" which were both appropriate and lies at the same time. The majority of the event had already been completed - both in time and mileage - but the thought of that didn't ease the fact that they still had to run a marathon - 26.2 miles.

Aid stations were positioned every mile. Sometimes, even that was too far. The greatest pain the racers felt wasn't in their legs or knees, but rather in their stomachs. Nutrition and hydration were the biggest challenges of the day, and it took every bit of effort to keep putting countless packs of PowerGel and Gatorade-Endurance down.

As night fell, the racers were given glowsticks, but as the night approached, so did the finish. The ultimate goal was to cross the finish line alive, standing, and ahead of the 17-hour limit. Alan and Adam both succeeded.

The Race

The Finish

Adam's stats. Alan's stats.
Adam's official race photos. Alan's official race photos.

Check out Alan's description and additional photos at http://sailnaway.blogspot.com/.

Thanks again to the support team at the race and everyone who followed online. Thanks to everyone who spent miles on the bike and pavement training with us. A super NORSA thank-you goes to the team host, David Wicks. David is a Watertribe member and three-time Everglades Challenge competitor who hosted the team at his wonderful house, took them kayaking late at night, and introduced them to the wonders of Kentucky.

And by the way, if you think an IRONMAN teeters on the brink of absurd, how about a double, triple, quadruple, or even 15X IRONMAN? That's right, a 36 mile swim, 1680 mile bike, and 393 mile run. The current world record is 312 hours and change.

What's the next grand feat for Team NORSA? Who knows, but we'll try and keep it interesting.