Strong Showing at the Rockville Twilight Runfest!

This past Saturday, Team NORSA members Tom Saffell, Steve, Matt White, Julia Brockman, Leo Weitzenhoff, Bethan Haaga, Fred Kukelhaus, and Adam participated in the popular Rockville Twilight 8K.

The race started in downtown Rockville and snaked through hilly suburban neighborhoods before emerging on to Route 355 near Montgomery College for the one-mile downhill finish. Despite the start getting pushed to 9:00 (originally 8:45), the temperature and humidity of the evening still lingered and made the race quite a challenge. Thankfully, there were plenty of water stops for the runners along the course. Also, several homeowners came out to their front yards in order to shower the participants with cold water from their garden hoses, helping to keep racers from overheating.

This year's event showcased the increasing competitiveness for Team NORSA, with Steve and Adam both beating their goals and setting personal records for the course. They had both previously run the race in 2006 (40:42 and 42:44, respectfully) and 2004 (43:15 and 42:32, respectfully). The race also served as training for future NORSA races; the Nation's Triathlon (Matt, Leo, Steve, and Adam), Louisville Ironman (Adam), Culpeper Sprint (Steve and Fred), and the Lake Logan Tri (Adam).

The team results:

Rank        Bib # Name            Age Time      Pace
318         649   Adam   25  36:54     7:26 
323         672   Fred Kukelhaus  25  37:02     7:27 
82          606   Julia Brockman  24  37:56     7:38 
419         640   Steve           25  39:49     8:01 
440         721   Leo Weitzenhoff 26  40:05     8:04 
171         642   Bethan Haaga    25  43:06     8:41 
748         666   Matthew White   25  47:17     9:31 
1087        639   Thomas Saffell  25  64:10     12:55 

A bit of NORSA history: this is the first race at which NORSA made a showing, with Adam and Steve participating on a whim in 2004. Prior to that point, NORSA had been exclusively an outdoor recreation society (e.g., camping and canoeing). It was with this race, and the many to follow, that NORSA members found ways to challenge their fitness level in the outdoors.

Giant Acorn Sprint 10/4/08

The Giant Acorn Sprint (VA) is still a couple of months away - this is just letting you know that you can register at a discount rate ($60) until August 1st. You should also be aware that this race sold out fairly early last year (39% filled as of 7/27/08).
(47% filled as of 7/31/08)
(52% filled as of 8/1/08)

First NORSA Picnic at Carderock, MD

The first of hopefully many picnics to come was held this past weekend at the park in Carderock, MD, off Clara Barton Parkway across from the David Taylor Model Basin. NORSA's DC area contingent gathered in force to enjoy picnic food, good times, and a some summertime fun by the Potomac. With dogs, burgers, and sides on the menu, the happy NORSA folks filled their agenda with frisbees, footballs, and brief canoe trips over to Scott's Run, a small waterfall on the Virginia side of the Potomac that splashes into a clear pool. Steve was smart enough to bring his camera and waterproof case to get some awesome footage of an American eel foraging for food while two other eels fought in the background.

NORSA is planning many more such social events similar to this one because the picnic was such a success. The only reason it ended before dark was because of the rainstorm that came along. Although some NORSA members were actually enjoying the rain while out on the river. Stay tuned to the Upcoming Events for more opportunities like this one.

Diamond in the Rough Race Recap

Steven completed the Diamond in the Rough Triathlon in 2:55:49, finishing 236 of 378 competitors. The race featured a 1-mile swim where the Susquehanna River joins the Chesapeake Bay. The 27-mile bike course was among the more hilly to be raced. It included the infamous "mile 22" hill - a mile-long uphill climb. Fortunately, the downhills were as rewarding as the uphills were punishing. According to his computer, Steven reached a top speed of 39.5mph at one point in time. Unfortunately, the hills also took their toll - a group of about 5 bikers collided around a very sharp descending curve. The bike course also paralleled some train tracks; the Acela zoomed by and may have scared some animals. The 5-mile run was thankfully flat as it was along the banks of the river. Competitors were parked-in until 12:00 because of road closures, which made for a large post-race party. Overall an awesome race!

Tri-Team Z dominated the race with 41 members racing (thats 10% of the competitors). They even brought their own truck and tents and put them by the finish line. Here is one of them finishing:

After the race, the competitors drove home in a large caravan.

NORSA's Couchman Rocks Yellow Creek Sprint

On Saturday, June 14, I (Kurt Couchman) ran the Jackie Kallal Triathlon at Yellow Creek State Park, near Indiana, PA, with the support and encouragement of my lovely wife Liz. Despite forecasts of ugly weather, the morning was perfect for a race: little wind, partly cloudy, warm but not hot.

Although I had less than the ideal amount of time to warm up, a twenty-five minute delay between being called to the starting line and the starter’s gun eliminated most benefits from warming up. The swim was half a mile, straight out and back in decently warm water with the buoys always to the right. I pushed myself a good bit harder in the swim than I should have, so I was pretty well winded by the time I got to the transition.

The bike was 9.5 miles on roads over rolling hills through forest and farm country, and those years of mountain biking certainly paid off when attacking the uphill stretches.

After getting off the bike, I had side stiches on both sides but pushed through it. The 3.5 mile run was basically straight out and back, partly curving around the lake. By this time, the sun had come out fully and it was hot. Or at least I was. And the showers afterwards were iceberg cold.

I learned a couple important lessons from this race:

1) Warming up fully makes for having a good time.
2) Swimming hard is stupid…it’s less than 1/6th of the race, and you can’t empty the tank too soon.
3) The last half mile or so of the bike is not the time to race the guy next to you…if it means you’ll get passed in the run.
4) And finally, yes, old people are fully capable of kicking my ass…so far.

I finished in 1:25:11 (4th of 14 in my age group). Full results here.

And as we left the park, the sky opened up and it started to pour.