City Coach | Coach Cane's Blog

Burning River 100-Mile Race Results

Major congratulations to Kevin Motch on finishing the Burning River 100-miler in 22:55:25. Kevin was methodical and smart throughout; moving from 126th place at the 15 mile checkpoint, all the way up to 27th place at the finish. Heck - I couldn't even stay up late enough to follow his finish, but he managed to keep moving for almost a day.  

Great work Kevin. 

VCTC X-C Summer Series Race Results

Last week Matt Duelka ventured up to the Bronx for the Van Cortlandt Park Track Club's Summer Series Cross Country race. Among the highlights:

• Matt met another fan of the NJ Nets
• Matt ran 18:47 on the very challenging course
• Matt finished 5th overall and 1st in his AG
• Matt won carrot cake 

NYC Triathlon Info Session - Wednesday, August 3rd at 8pm

Are you participating in this year's Nautica NYC Triathlon?  Worried about what to expect? Overwhelmed by all the information provided on the race website? Not to worry, we've been through this many times and are here to help you make sense of it all so that you have a great race day. JackRabbit Coach Jonathan Cane will be at the Upper West Side store to provide great tips and insights into the race. FREE and open to all!

Ironman Lake Placid Race Results

Congratulations to the indefatigable Agnes Zbylut and Jon Miles. Great work. 

Agnieszka Zbylut

BIB	AGE	STATE/COUNTRY	PROFESSION
393	40	Staten Island NY USA

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
1:29:26	6:30:12	4:38:43	12:51:26	1121	36

 

Jon Miles

BIB	AGE	STATE/COUNTRY	PROFESSION
1618	40	Rye NY USA

SWIM	BIKE	RUN	OVERALL	RANK	DIV.POS.
1:15:18	6:24:46	5:12:29	13:04:42	1251	269

Open Letter to NYRR pt. 2

Dear NYRR:

Thank you for running a safe, well organized race today. The heat was challenging but we applaud your decision to hold the race as scheduled.  The frequent water stops and the misting stations were welcomed. The race was well executed, the competitors and volunteers were all great, and the announcers also did a fine job.

Thank you again. We look forward to coming back next year.

NYRR Sprint Triathlon Results

Major congratulations to Terry Moore on his 3-peat at the NYRR Sprint Triathlon, as well as to Sheila Monaghan, Bridget McKenna and Jessica Purcell-Zebrak for finishing 1-2-3 in the women's field. This was Bridget's first triathlon, and Jess overcame a mechanical on the bike, but both still finished strong. We were also well represented by Alisa Stern (5th overall among the women) and Fabian Gallardo (6th overall in the men's field). 

It was also great to see Bridget McMahon, Jitesh Raniga, Mark Pfeffer,  Steve Zebrak John de Csepel, John Neiers and other friends out there, and thanks to Keila Merino for running 12 miles to the race to come cheer on her teammates. 

And thank you to NYRR for holding the event despite the heat wave, and for putting on such a safe, well organized race. 

Check out the results and the gallery. 

Open Letter to NYRR

Dear NYRR:

I see that because of the heat here in NYC you are considering eliminating the 5k run from tomorrow's Sprint Triathlon, or that you may just use it as a "fun run" with results based on the swim and bike segments. Based on the chatter on twitter and your facebook page, the debate over this decision is as heated as the city. 

I applaud your concern over the safety of the racers, but wonder where you would draw the line. I know of no other triathlons that have been canceled due to heat. Certainly the risk of death is higher in the heat, but there are plenty of examples of deaths in races under more moderate conditions. At your facebook page, one woman who clearly was not captain of the debate team pointed to the tragic deaths of three runners at a half marathon in Detroit as reason to exercise an abundance of caution and cancel the race. At the time that each of the three runners collapsed (10-11 miles into the race) the temperature was just below freezing that day, so clearly racing in a variety of conditions can have deadly consequences. 

Furthermore, if you're concerned for safety, why even hold a triathlon in the first place. (And let's not forget your publicly stated goal of expanding to more races and ones with open water swims?) After all, the death rate during the triathlon portion is far greater than during the ride or run. 

Ironman Texas, Arizona, Kona and others have been held under brutal conditions and last well into the hottest part of the day. Many of the athletes competing in those races travel from cooler climates and have no time to get acclimated. Yet the race goes on. 

All racing (and training) holds an inherent risk. But the people who paid their money for tomorrow's race are adults. They can make the decision of whether they choose to race under those conditions. Those who think it's unsafe can stay home, skip the run, stop for ice cream along the way, or do whatever they - as grown adults with the power to make their own decisions - choose. For all of those lobbying for the cancellation, I would remind you that no one will force you to race even if the event is held as scheduled. Only you can decide what's right for you.  

Clearly it's your prerogative to do what you want with your race, but please understand that it will anger paying customers and may impact their future racing choices. If you continue to dumb down your races, serious goal-oriented athletes will take their business elsewhere, and those who laughed at the idea of NYRR holding a triathlon will chuckle self-righteously.

Transition Tips

Swim, bike, run. And transition. Transitions are free speed and can make a huge difference in how you place in a triathlon. While flying mounts and dismounts can help shave time, most of the speed you can achieve is the result of proper planning and execution. 

Last week Terry Moore and I held an informal transition workshop for our athletes. Here are a few highlights.

• Be organized. Know exactly where you'll have everything. I suggest the helmet over the aero bars, clasped (to avoid the risk of it getting knocked off by another competitor), sunglasses in the helmet. Bike shoes already clipped in, or beside your bike and wide open. Running shoes lubed, laced with elastic laces. No socks for shorter races. (If you tend to blister, then do some training runs without socks to toughen up your feet.) Race belt by the running shoes.  Bike in an appropiate gear to get out of T1, racked by your saddle for a quick getaway. (Unless it's a super steep hill out of T1, leave your bike in the big ring so you're less likely to bounce a shoe or drop your chain while running with the bike.)
• Know where your bike is and where it goes. Study the course beforehand and know exactly where you'll be going when entering T1 and T2. Don't do a "Where's Waldo" and look frantically for your bike because you forgot what row you're in.
• Practice transitions at home. It may sound silly, but it knowing exactly what you're going to do can help. 
• Practice getting out of your wetsuit. Unzip as you exit the water and get the suit to your waist. Try to step on the suit and pull the other leg out so you don't have to sit. Lots of lube on your ankles and wrists helps too. Extra credit points if you can put your helmet on while taking the suit off. 
• Arrive early and pick your spot on the appropriate rack. An outside spot is usually best. Latecomers always get squeezed and get the worst spot. 
• Don't use anything extraneous. Except for long races, you should never change clothes during a race. No socks, no gloves. 
• Know exactly what you're going to do in advance. Know how you'll have your gear laid out and what's where.  No what you'll take off and what you'll put on. Don't leave anything to chance or make last minute decisions.  If you plan to do a flying mount, that's great. Then have your shoes on the bike, rubber bands holding them level and the crank at the angle you want. If not, have your shoes wide open.  Same thing for the dismount. Waiting until you're arriving in T2 to decide your dismount method is a recipe for disaster. (Or at least a mishap.)
• And in the name of all that's good and holy, take your helmet off before you exit T2.

 

If You Love Gina Kolata

Actually, if you love the NY Times' Gina Kolata, you probably shouldn't read this because you're not gonna like what I have to say. In yesterday's paper, Ms. Kolata wrote a column entitled For Runners, Soft Ground Can Be Hard on the Body. In it, she and the few authorities she bothered to quote jump to the conclusion that running on soft ground is no better than asphalt based on limited anecdotal evidence. Here are just a few of the errors in the piece:

• Ms. Kolata begins by quoting a single exercise physiologist. Rather than providing any science, the exercise physiologist relies on his personal experience running on a soft, irregular surface, and the fact that he turned his ankle running while recovering from a knee injury. In other words, he is speaking as an injured runner who eperienced a problem, not as an exercise physiologist or authority of any sort. 
• Ms. Kolata states that there are no scientific studies proving that softer surfaces lead to fewer injuries. (In fact I can point to at least one that suggests it, and at the very least she can't provide evidence of lower injury rates when running on asphalt.) 
• No differentiation is made between different types of soft surfaces. Is she suggesting that the trails in Bear Mountain are the same as a treadmill or Central Park's Bridle Path or the well groomed trails of Rockefeller State Park?
• Rather than talking to experienced trail runners, she cites the aforementioned exercise physiologist. The one with a pre-existing injury. The one who likely had never run off road before, and therefore had not developed the skill or proprioception and coordination necessary to run on trails, but apparently has the talent to jump to conclusions based on a sample size N=1
• Ms. Kolata states that her favorite surface is asphalt. Same for one of the doctors she interviewed who is also a runner. That's a sample size of two "athletes". The author and one doctor. Perhaps no other runners were available for the column.
• Similarly, she states that her coach never advocated running on soft surfaces. If her coach were Alberto Salazar would she have written of the benefits of getting off asphalt?

I'm a lazy bastard, but if you give me five minutes I can easily track down a couple of doctors and physiologists, two runners and one coach who prefer softer surfaces. If she doesn't want to go to the trouble, I could easily put her in contact with respected sports medicine doctors and far more accomplished coaches and runners than those she interviewed, and they'd provide some counterpoint. But I suppose that would make it harder to print such broad, generalized claims as fact. 

For the record, I'm not stating that soft surfaces are for everyone. For instance, for a runner with poor foot mechanics, an uneven surface may well exacerbate or cause injuries. With low mileage runners, even if there is increased impact when running on a hard surface, it might not matter. But to discount the potential benefits in terms of improved performance and decreased injury based on the opinions of a few authorities without giving any voice to a differing opinion is both sloppy and arrogant. 

Brooklyn Marathon

Looks like our friends at NYC Runs are hosting the "Inaugural" Brooklyn Marathon on 11/20/11. I know some people will be put off by the eight fun-filled laps of Prospect Park, but I'll remind you that a) all marathons are 26.2 miles and b) it's not a sightseeing adventure, it's a race. 

And for the record, over a century ago there was another Brooklyn Marathon, so I'm not sure that the term "inaugural" is exactly accurate. Here's a link to the NYTimes article about the 1909 race. It was won by James Clark in 2:46:52.  There is no truth to the rumor that I was in attendance at the race.