The Pain in the Mass Tour

 



Cool start to a long day

Day 1 of The Pain in the Mass Tour.   Looooong day in the saddle. 115 miles and over 8 hours and the hills were very tough and there were many as evidenced by 9500 feet of climbing. I am not a very good climber and as usual  Wachusett Mountain kicked my a$$. As part of this tour the climb up Wachusett was a timed event so I tried to give it my best to see how quickly I could reach the summit.  I tried to stay conservative on Mile Hill road (which I think is the toughest part of the  climb) but failed.  My heart rate was soaring and I knew it was going to be a slow ride to the summit.  I reached the summit and went through the timing mat and was smoked and had to get off my bike for a few minutes to let my heart rate slow down.  I couldn't stay to long as it was a little chilly atop the mountain. With that climb done it was on to Greenfield, MA via the Quabbin Reservoir area and the endless hill in Shutesbury, MA.  I have ridden The King's Tour of the Quabbin century before so I knew what to expect.  At this point in the ride I was just ridding easy and enjoying the view.  I must say that I am a little burnt out from the Ironman training and the 7 Mile swim the weekend before so it was time to smell the roses.  Once I reached the top of Quabbin it was pretty much down hill from there.  The route took us through Amherst, MA and through the University of Massachusetts campus.  I had never been there before so it was nice to see.   Once through Amherst, we followed the Connecticut River in to Greenfield, MA and Greenfield Community College and our day was done.   The event organizers did a great job having every detailed planned when we arrived.  Our bags we already in the hotel room and they had three 3 Massage therapist to provide relief to sore legs.  Then to top off the day, a nice pasta dinner to refuel for day 2. 

Climbing Wachusett

 

 

Day 2 of Pain in the Mass Tour. Wow what a difficult day of climbing. I have never seen hills like the hills I saw today. Today was a shorter ride but definitely harder.  Right out the door with no warm up after less than a mile, 3 miles of 10-12% grades. That will wake you up and the rest of the day was about the same.  It was like the event organizers searched and found some of the steepest hills in western, MA.  To me the toughest and most challenging part of the day was the half mile climb of Reservoir Road in North Adams, MA just before we  get to Mount Greylock.  It was so steep, I had to stop halfway and almost did not get out of my clip on pedals.  That hill was a bitch and we still had Greylock which at 3491 ft. is the state's tallest mountain. We ascended via Notch Road in North Adams which is the steeper of the two paved roads to the summit, with hairpin turns and some very steep sections in the first half of the climb I had to swerve back and forth to get up some them. As you can see from my average speed for the day (13 MPH) it was a tough day.   At the end of the day the views on top of Mt Greylock were awesome and we got some good group photos. 



I made it!

Beautiful Backdrop

Check out the Devil from the Tour de France

 

 

This event was for a good cause, The Home Away Fund and I want to thank all who made donations.  Your caring and generosity are always appreciated.  This ride is a very professional run event. Having ridden across the country, I have to say this was one of the most challenging rides I have ever done. I encourage everyone to give it a try next year. The best part of the ride is support to the home away fund. Thanks to Peter Femino and crew and all the volunteers for a great weekend. 

Merrimack 10.6k Swim Race Report

7 mile swim route

 

WOW!  That was a long time in the water, 3 hours and 9 Minutes!  My much anticipated marathon swim is complete and I can check off another endurance bucket list event.  The day started off a little chilly as I got out of bed at 5:00 am to 46 degrees temp.  I knew that the water would be warmer than the air so that was not going to be an issue.  The water temp was around 68-70 degrees and was perfect for the swim so I decided to go with my sleeveless wetsuit.  There were 20 other crazy individuals like myself doing the 2nd annual Merrimack 10.6k Swim in the mighty Merrimack River from Tyngsboro to Lowell.  For some reason I was a little nervous about this swim as the farthest I had ever swam before this event at one time was 3 miles. I did not sleep very well the night before as the anticipation of getting this done was on my mind.  

The event was low key and the start was relaxed as we all got in the water and the starter said "if everyone is ready then lets go" and we were off.  The first two or so miles seemed to go by really slow and I did not get the downstream current that I expected.  I guess that is because the river bends and curves.  I had never had to take nutrition on a swim before but this time I stuck two Powerbar Gels into my wetsuit and my kayak support held my bottle of Powerbar Perform.  My strategy was to have a Gel and some perform every 2 miles and that seemed to work well.   During mile 3 or 4 I did hit a good stretch where the current had me going at a very good pace and was hoping it would last to the end but unfortunately it did not.  I just kept relaxed and my pace consistent and I kept on going.  I knew that when I reached the Rourke Bridge there was one mile to go.  It seemed that the bridge would never come.  I told myself that once I could see the bridge I would take my last nutrition and finish the final leg.  As I approached the bridge I wondered if Mary lee would be on it and she was. As I was passing under I placed an order with Mary lee for Dunkin Donuts coffee for me and my Kayak support Jimmy Lombardi.  One mile to go from the bridge and it was the longest mile at least it seemed long.  I finally reached the finish and got out of the water a little wobbly but happy to complete another epic endurance event.  At the end of the day the 6.6 mile swim turned into 7 miles due to zig zagging on the course along the way. I finished 13 out of 21 swimmers but for me this was not a race, it was survival and making sure I could make it to the finish.  You can see my mile splits and map of the swim route by clicking this link: Merrimack 10.6k Swim (7 miles) by pschoenig at Garmin Connect - Details

Ready to go

Swimmers ready 

Approaching the Rourke Bridge in Lowell.  1 Mile to go.

Ordering Dunkin Donuts Coffee from Mary lee on the bridge

Finally done in a little over 3 Hours

Helping my Kayaker Support Jimmy before I cross the finish line

Ironman Lake Placid Race Report

Getting to the starting line

I always said that I had an Ironman in me and now it is complete.  5 months of training and in just under 12 hours the Ironman experience is over.  I am so happy that I committed to this endurance bucket list goal as the entire journey was awesome.  Those of you who know me understand that I will not commit to something unless I know I can be "all in".  For anyone considering doing an Ironman you must be able to commit totally to the journey and sacrifices must be made to ensure that your race day event goes smoothly.  Proper diet, proper rest, scheduling your workouts around your life events, being tired, being grumpy, all required to achieve your goal.  If you want to be a Ironman you must read "So you want to be a triathlete" it sums up the Ironman experience exactly.

Friday - 25 July

First thing on Friday morning I completed my 50 min recovery ride and 20 min recovery run.  Then Mary lee and I packed up the car and headed out on our 5 hour ride to Lake Placid.  We arrived in Lake Placid around 2 p.m. and could feel the excitement of Ironman as soon as we arrived.  We headed over to the convention center to register and pickup my race packet.  The registration and packet pickup was seamless and easy.  The volunteers the entire race weekend did an awesome job and deserve many kudos.  After packet pickup we went to the Olympic speed skating oval for the athlete meeting and listen to the voice of Ironman Mike Reilly explain the race day details. After the meeting I was able to grab a picture with Mike.  

                                                               

The Voice of Ironman Mike Reilly

From there Mary lee and I headed over to Mirror Lake to see the swim layout and to meet my coach Matt Curbeau of QT2 Systems.  Matt is a professional triathlete who guided me along this journey and I would not have been ready without his counsel.  Matt and I went over my race day execution plan and strategy.  Things we discussed were; swim wave seeding, power and heart rate goals on the bike, and pace and heart rate goals on the run.  This was also the first time I had met Matt face to face and thanked him for coming to the race as I was the only athlete he coached that was doing Ironman Lake Placid.  From there Mary lee and I went to the athletes welcome ceremony and then to dinner.  Just before dinner I had two very important phone calls to my kids to let them know I was about to do something very special and it had nothing to do with Ironman. 

After dinner, I talked Mary lee into going back down to Mirror lake to have another look at the swim location.  At this point in the day the sun had set and it was starting to get dark.  When we got to the base of Mirror lake right at the monument for the Ironman, I started talking about the commitment and dedication that the 2700 athletes had to have to get to this point and how I had that same commitment and dedication for her and that I loved her.  I got down on one knee and she says "what are you doing?"  After 4 1/2 years together I asked her to marry me and she said YES!.  The race was 36 hours away and I was already a winner. Newly engaged, we went and got some ice cream and the day was over. I love you Mary lee.

The spot where she said yes!

Saturday - 26 July

Saturday was going to be a long boring day for me as I needed to stay off my feet most of the day and relax.  Before that could happen I had to take care of some last minute details.  The morning started early with a quick swim in Mirror Lake before a nice big breakfast and pre race talk hosted by QT2 Systems.   After that it was off to drop my bike and bags in the transition area and then back to the hotel to rest all day long while Mary lee explored the Village of Lake Placid.

Morning Swim Complete

Mary lee at the spot of our engagement

ML showing off her new engagement ring

Sunday - 27 July

Swim Strong - 1:07

Can you find me at the start?

Race day is finally here and the weather does not look promising.  Driving to the start there was a slight rain and gray skies.  The thing with Lake Placid weather is it changes constantly.  As we await the start of the race, the sun tries to break through ever so slightly giving us hope that the rain will stay away.  The cannon went off at 0630 for the start of the age group swim and utilizing the new rolling swim start I was in the water about 2 minutes later.   I had seeded myself near the front of the 1:01 - 1:10 minute swim finish projection hoping to get a draft off a good swimmer.   Once I hit the water I immediately ran into traffic bumping into swimmers.  I then shifted myself to the right of the buoy's to get some clear water.  I  finally got into a rhythm and was knocking off buoy after buoy until I got to the turning buoy.  As expected it got congested again as all swimmers were diverging to the turn buoy.   I was able to get through without much fanfare other than an occasional foot tap or arm to the head.  It was a quick swim to the next turn buoy with the same congestion.  I again positioned myself right of the buoy's and headed back to the start.  I felt good and was swimming strong.  After 1 lap my time was 32:04 and I was very happy with it.
As I exited the water I spotted Mary lee in the balcony of the boat house and I waived to her.




Photo from local newspaper

 On to lap 2. I was still feeling great and swimming smooth but swimmer traffic was more congested. By now all 2700 athletes were in the water so I was doing lots of dodging left and right of swimmers. With about half a mile to go it got really dark out and it started to rain.   I found some occasional clear water and felt like I was swimming fast but by the time I complete my swim my time was 1:07:23 for a 2nd lap time of 35:19.  After the race when I downloaded my swim GPS data it showed that I swam 2.57 miles, .17 miles longer than the 2.4 mile distance.  All that dodging back and forth cost me some time.  I made it out of the swim and headed to transition in the rain.  The next couple of hours would be very interesting.

Bike Smart - 5:58:43
The distance from the beach to the transition area is the longest I have ever seen in a triathlon, just under a 1/2 mile.  Even though it's long it is awesome.  The crowds are so large along the way it is like being in the Tour de France.  I made it to the transition area, got my bike bag, headed to the changing tent and then headed out on my bike.  The transition went smoothly because of the great job that the race volunteers do.



Just a little bit of rain

As soon as I mounted my bike the sky opened up with torrential down pour with thunder and lightning and thought to myself that this is going to be a long day.   As I headed out of T1 to start the first 56 mile loop,  I immediately started my nutrition and hydration plan and pedaled easy for the first few miles and got my heart rate in check.  The rain was coming down in buckets which helped in the conservative start that was part of my race execution plan.  The first 6-7 miles after leaving town are all up hill and you don't want to smoke yourself right from the start.  I then got to the top of the hills and was ready for the fast 6 mile descent to the town of Keene.  That descent on a dry day is nerve racking enough but during this driving rain made the pucker factor a little bigger.  What made it hard is I had to squint my eyes as the rain was pelting me in the face.  I did my best to stay off the brakes but was riding them on a couple of areas.    Not a relaxing time as I was hitting speeds of 45-47 mph.  I finally reached the bottom without incident and made it to the flat section of the loop.  This was the best part of the course as we also had a little tail wind.  I got into a nice cadence and was easily riding 20-23 mph along this section.  I continued to drink as my coach told me I had to pee at least twice during the entire bike section and was worried if I did not pee I would be dehydrated for the run.  Well after 45 miles the rain stopped and on the last section of the first loop I finally had to pee and if you are a good triathlete you pee on your bike while riding to save time.  I could not do it so I used a rest stop.  Shortly after that I finally came upon the three hill section called Mama Bear, Baby Bear, and Papa Bear signaling the end of the first loop.  You could see the crowd of spectators in the distance along Papa Bear and it was great to have them there to cheer you on over the final hill of lap one.  Soon after that I was on Mirror Lake Drive heading into town where the crowds were enormous.  I soaked it all in and headed out to do it all over again.  Split of first lap 3:00:29.

Photo Credit: Steffo Photography

The second loop was not much different than the first except that it was dry and the sun came out.  After taking the first lap conservatively,  I went a little bit harder on the flat section on lap 2 to see if I could make up a little time and try to have a negative split which means doing the second lap faster than the first.  My race execution plan was working, I kept up with my nutrition plan eating every half hour and drinking two bottles of perform sports drink every hour.   I felt great and headed into town with a  second lap split of 2:58:13.

Run to Survive - 4:32:18

I hit T2 feeling good about my ride and knew that the hard part was about to start.  I jumped off my bike and handed it to another great volunteer.  My legs felt a little wobbly as I headed to get my transition bag and into the changing tent where another volunteer assisted me with my running gear and run nutrition items.  I switched shirts, got my shoes on and off I was to do a full marathon.  1997 was the last time I ran a marathon and I knew what was coming. The run course is two 13.1 mile loops.  My race execution plan called for me to go out slow running the first two miles at 9:15 per mile pace until my heart rate settled and got my legs under me and to do 20 second power walks at each water stop.  The first two miles are down hill and the crowds are big so I tried to keep calm and run slow.  I missed my targets; Mile 1 - 8:24, Mile 2 - 8:38.  I finally settled down and was doing fine as my goal was to run a 4:00 Marathon.  Split after first loop 1:58.  



 The second loop was not much fun.  At mile 15,  I started feeling nausea and could no longer take

Feeling good for now

eating my cliff shots bloks  which were part of my nutrition plan.  The sugar was just to much and I abandoned my nutrition plan and just took water and occasional sport drink.  The plan now was survival to the finish.  Run from aid station to aid station.  The 20 second power walks turned into 30-35 second shuffles pouring water and ice over my head while trying to keep focused on moving forward.  My mental toughness was being challenged and I walked more than I should have.  With 4 miles to go I had one hour left to break 12 hours for the day.  I kept telling myself, I got this, stay under 15 Min miles and your goal will be met.  I kept having a conversation with myself and having that internal struggle about walking versus running.  In the end I convinced myself that if I did not break 12 hours after all the work I put into getting here the day would be a failure and I would not be happy with myself.  All I had to do was get past mile 23 and 24, the two major hills on the run course which I walked on the first loop.  Once past them you are home free in town with the energy of the crowds and the anticipation of running into the Olympic Speed skating oval and on to the finish. Well I got through the hills and saw my coach and he asked me "what do you think of the Ironman experience"  My response "I'm smoked"
With two miles to go he sent me off with encouraging words "go and get it done"  With that I picked up the pace and headed for the finish.  Coming into the Olympic Oval was awesome and  I was all alone.  I made the turn and raised my arms while Mike Reilly announced my arrival and said "Philip Schoenig you are an Ironman" .

 After 5 months of training and a long day of racing the Ironman experience was over.  What I will remember more than the race itself is the 5 month journey that got me here.  The commitment and the dedication to the cause and the support of the woman I love.  Thank you Mary lee! Thank you for always being there for me and supporting every crazy thing I do and thank you for saying YES! I love you.  

ML and I 

4 Weeks to IMLP - Training Summary

All the hard work is done and like all us Ironman wannabes, the sweat sure did roll off the body these past two weeks.  I was both mentally and physically exhausted after my last workout sunday night and was overcome by the emotion of it all.   When I was running the fifth and last repeat mile I knew I was about to complete nearly 5 months of training that will take me into the battle against the clock at Lake Placid.  I had a sense of joy and accomplishment just getting to this point and there is still 3 weeks to go before I toe the line.  Like with all things that take a while to accomplish, you need to cherish the small victories along the way and I was enjoying having reached this point.  Some of the highlights of the past 2 weeks of training included a sub 7 min mile pace 5k I did last saturday,  (I have not been sub 7 in a long, long time) the monster set, the always tough 2 x 30 min Z3 Tempo ride and lastly the 5 x 1 mile repeats with 3 minutes rest between miles at best sustainable effort. 

It's now TAPER time!  Time to get the mind and body ready for the 140.6 mile journey.  For me that started with a nice massage today at Elements Massage in Acton, MA and it sure felt good to get all the soreness worked out.  I scheduled another four days from race day and look forward to that.  

I started yesterday with a quick 35 min open water recovery swim and had no workout today so it feels a little funny having almost two days off from training.  With that I need to watch what I am eating as these past two weeks allowed me to have lots of calories.  I don't need to add ten pounds of weight back before race day so as the TAPER acronym says above, I need to embrace the free time and adjust my calorie intake.  The biggest thing I will do now besides doing some specificity training is to rest and recover.  I need to get as much sleep as I can as that is when the body recovers best.  I am confident in the work I have put in and look forward to racing Ironman Lake Placid.  

Below is a recap of the last two weeks of training and you can view the results at Garmin Connect

Monday Jun 23, 2014

Swim

Zone R
Duration: 00:35:00

Open Water Recovery Swim

Swim at your perceived ZR pace in open water.

Tuesday Jun 24, 2014

Bike

Zone 3
Duration: 01:50:00

Tempo Ride (Z3)

Warmup:
20 min into Z1
Main Set:
2 X (30 min @ Z3, 5 min @ ZR/Z1)
Cooldown:
To final ride time @ ZR/Z1 (as you feel)
**Keep cadence at 90 rpm throughout

Run

Zone 1
Duration: 00:40:00

Z1 T Run (LAST mile @ Z2)

Run the LAST mile at Z2. The rest will all be at Z1.

Wednesday Jun 25, 2014

Run

Zone 2
Duration: 01:15:00

Z1/Z2 Run - AM

Run 43 minutes at Z1, then 32 minutes @ Z2. Descend the pace throughout the run and finish toward the top of Z2.

Swim

Best Sustainable Effort
Duration: 00:50:00
Distance: 2600 yds

Speed Set Swim

Warmup:
1000 continuous @ TT+10 sec
Main Set:
2 X (Best sustainable repeats of: 300 on TT+10 sec)
5 X 200 pull on TT+10 sec swam at TT+5 sec

Run

Zone 1
Duration: 01:15:00

Z1 Run - PM

Zone 1 Run. Make sure you descend the pace by getting faster throughout the workout. Start at the lower end of zone 1 and work your way toward the top by the end of the workout.

Thursday Jun 26, 2014

Swim

Best Sustainable Effort
Duration: 01:40:00
Distance: 4900 yds

Monster Set

Warmup/Main Set:
o Pull 1000
o 9 X 100
o 4 X 200 Paddles
o 7 X 100
o Pull 600
o 5 X 100
o 2 X 200 Paddles

All sets completed continuously on TT pace + 10 sec ; all 100's & 200's completed at Best Sustainable Effort **Record average pace for 100's and 200's**

Friday Jun 27, 2014

Bike

Best Sustainable Effort
Duration: 01:30:00

Speed Work

Warmup:
20 min @ ZR/Z1
Main Set:
8 X (2.5 min interval, 2.5 min recovery @ ZR)
**Use best sustainable effort through all intervals**
Cooldown:
to final ride time @ ZR/Z1

Run

Zone R
Duration: 00:20:00

ZR T Run

Start your T run within 10 minutes after the bike ride. Run duration @ ZR with a cadence of at least 88 steps per minute.

Saturday Jun 28, 2014

Bike

Zone 1
Duration: 01:40:00

Z1 Ride

**Make sure you descend the pace by getting faster throughout the workout. Start at the lower end of zone 1 and work your way toward the top by the end of the workout. Keep cadence at 95+ throughout during base phase and 90+ during build phase!

Run

Zone R
Duration: 00:35:00

ZR T Run

Start your T run within 10 minutes after the bike ride. Run duration @ ZR with a cadence of at least 88 steps per minute.

RACE! 5K Best Sustainable Effort Duration

Distance: 5 km

Sunday Jun 29, 2014

Bike

Zone 2
Duration: 05:30:00

Z1/Z2 Ride

Bike 236 minutes at Z1, then 94 minutes @ Z2. Descend the pace throughout the ride and finish toward the top of Z2. Keep cadence at 90+ rpm.

Run

Zone 1
Duration: 01:00:00

Z1 T Run

Start your T run within 10 minutes after the bike ride. Run duration at zone and make sure you descend the pace by getting faster throughout the workout. Start at the lower end of zone 1 and work your way toward the top by the end of the workout.

Monday Jun 30, 2014

Swim

Zone 1
Duration: 00:50:00

Open Water Steady Swim

Swim at your perceived Z1 pace in open water.

Practice:

Sighting by choosing an object (house, car, lifeguard chair, etc) to swim toward, and lifting head slightly every few strokes to check course

Tuesday Jul 1, 2014

Bike

Zone 3
Duration: 01:45:00

Tempo Ride (Z3)

Warmup:
20 min @ Z1
Main Set:
2 X (30 min @ Z3, 5 min @ ZR/Z1)
Cool down: To final ride time @ ZR/Z1 (as you feel) **Keep cadence at 90 rpm throughout

Run

Zone 1
Duration: 00:45:00

Z1 T Run (1st mile Z2)

Run the 1st mile off of the bike @ Z2 and the remainder at Z1.

Wednesday Jul 2, 2014

Swim

Best Sustainable Effort
Duration: 01:00:00
Distance: 3200

Speed Set Swim

Warmup:
1000 continuous @ TT+10 sec
Main Set:
2 X (Best sustainable repeats of: 600 on TT+10 sec)
5 X 200 pull on TT+10 sec swam at TT+5 sec

Run

Zone 2
Duration: 02:00:00

Z1/Z2 Run

Run 90 minutes at Z1, then 30 minutes @ Z2. Descend the pace throughout the run and finish toward the top of Z2.

Thursday Jul 3, 2014

Swim

Best Sustainable Effort
Duration: 01:25:00
Distance: 4200 yds

Open Water Miles of Misery

Warm-up:
o 2 X (50 kick/50 fist/50 free/50 pull/50 no kick)
o 4 X 50 no kick (speed dictated by need to stay afloat), 10 seconds between sets.
Main Set:
o 2 x 1600 at sustainable best effort (2 minutes between sets). **Record time for each....combine time for score, make sure the second one is NOT slower than the first**
Cool down: 2 X 100 easy as 50 fist, 50 free. 5 breaths rest in between sets 1 X 100 easy kick

Friday Jul 4, 2014

Bike

Best Sustainable Effort
Duration: 01:30:00

Speed Work

Warmup:
20 min @ ZR/Z1
Main Set:
5 X (5 min interval, 3 min recovery @ ZR)
**Use best sustainable effort through all intervals**
Cooldown: to final ride time @ ZR/Z1

Run

Zone R
Duration: 00:35:00

ZR T Run

Start your T run within 10 minutes after the bike ride. Run duration @ ZR with a cadence of at least 88 steps per minute.

Saturday Jul 5, 2014

Bike

Zone 1
Duration: 06:00:00

Z1 Ride

**Make sure you descend the pace by getting faster throughout the workout. Start at the lower end of zone 1 and work your way toward the top by the end of the workout. Keep cadence at 95+ throughout during base phase and 90+ during build phase!

Run

Zone 1
Duration: 00:55:00
Distance: 0

Z1 T Run

Start your T run within 10 minutes after the bike ride. Run duration at zone and make sure you descend the pace by getting faster throughout the workout. Start at the lower end of zone 1 and work your way toward the top by the end of the workout.

Sunday Jul 6, 2014

Bike Zone 1
Duration: 02:00:00

Z1 Ride (2 x 30 low cad)

**Make sure you descend the pace by getting faster throughout the workout. Start at the lower end of zone 1 and work your way toward the top by the end of the workout. Keep cadence at 95+ throughout during base phase and 90+ during build phase! **Insert 2 X 30 minutes at Z1 and a cadence of 60-70rpm during 2nd half of workout, with 5 min at Z1 and 90rpm between each**

Run

Best Sustainable Effort
Duration: 01:30:00

Speed Work

Warmup:
30 min @ ZR/Z1 (as you feel)
Main Set: 5 X (1 mile repeats, with 3 minutes recovery between each)
**Use best sustainable effort through all intervals**
Cooldown: To final run time @ ZR/Z1 (as you feel)

Gotta Love the Monster Set

This workout is an ass kicker.  20,710 yards of swimming in the last 12 days.  Blows my mind that I have swam almost 12 miles in two weeks.