I have some devastating news to share- Summer is over. I realize some people get excited about flannel, pumpkin spice, and yellow leaves, but how can these things ever replace swimsuits and barbecues?! September isn’t all that bad though. Temps are still mild, days haven’t gotten too short yet, and the Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival marks the grand finale of race season in the northeast.
Since being my first half iron race in 2010, Pumpkinman has been my favorite race weekend, and this year’s races were no exception. Saturday was the sprint, roughly an hour of redline racing. Although the short swim left me with a deficit to the leader, the insanely steep run up from the pond and a smooth transition quickly put me in the front of the race, and from there I never looked back. Power on the bike was right on target, and pace on the run course was good (enough) to stay out in front all the way to the finish line. Getting that monkey off my back was great, after not winning at Pumpkinman since 2015 in a close battle.
On day two, Pumpkinman offers two races, the half iron or the new Olympic distance. Because a good half marathon takes a heavy toll on my body and requires a significant recovery period (which eats into precious training time), I opted for the Olympic distance. The same swimmer got a lead right away, and to his credit it took a full 15 minutes to catch him on the bike, much longer than it took on day one! After getting a hold on the lead, it was the same playbook from the sprint, good power on the bike, and good (enough!) running to come through with another victory.
No recap of Pumpkinman would be complete without at least a mention of the post-race food. Do you love cold pizza and orange slices? Me neither. After the sprint race on Saturday, you get a beautiful brunch buffet, complete with mimosas and a bloody Mary bar. The pumpkin pancakes are the perfect meal to go with the fall theme. On day two you get a full Thanksgiving style dinner with all the works. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, squash, and of course great beer. To say that Pumpkinman wins best post-race food is the understatement of a lifetime, and implies it is actually a contest. I go to more races than the average Joe, and I’m still waiting for a race to come anywhere near this quality.
Racing is fun, and winning is always my favorite result, but something about racing at Pumpkinman transcends the usual swim-bike-run contest. You’ll never mistake the environment for the intense and over the top Ironman and 70.3 races, but rather notice something very different about the way people carry themselves here. Even the fastest, most competitive athletes, are just having a great, fun time. Everybody is happy. Laughter is in the air. Sure, there’s a clock to beat, but that’s just one small detail. To me, Pumpkinman is everything great about grassroots triathlon, and at the end of the day, just a fantastic reminder that triathlon is supposed to be fun, a fact that is far too easy to forget at other races. I promise that if you put Pumpkinman on your race calendar next season, it will be the highlight of your season.
With all that said, I did race again in September, at the incredibly competitive 70.3 Augusta. The drive was long, but neatly split into two days of travel. The first leg was Saratoga to northern Virginia to spend a little time with my brother, and to finally ask him to be my best man! Then the rest of the way down to Georgia. I will keep this race recap short, because frankly I had an awful day and am still holding some anger at myself for missing an opportunity to put a great race together. The 1.2 mile swim was downriver, a huge advantage to a relatively weak swimmer. My deficit to the front was just 2:30, far and away the closest to the front I have ever been after the swim on the 70.3 circuit. At first transition I was at the tail of a group of guys who I knew were strong cyclists. It was a best case scenario. On the bike we all went out pretty hard before the pace settled, and then for the majority of the ride we were a group of ten, with perhaps 3-4 of us doing the work at the front. The bike course crossed some railroad tracks, which caused both of my bottles to launch. I spent about 40 minutes of the ride with no fluids on a hot day, which would cost me later on the run course. I matched the 2:08 bike split I had at Steelhead a month ago, and spent less time pulling the group along at the front. On paper everything looked perfect. Once onto the run, I had all the pacemakers to choose from, but none of the strength to go with anybody. It was strange, because nothing felt awful right away, but there was no spring in my step, and it was insane work just to hold pace in the first five kilometers. Not long after the 4 mile marker, I was slowed to a casual jog. I kept going with hopes of catching that second wind, but no such luck. At ten miles I was reduced to a walk/jog, and came through the finish with my worst half marathon in memory.
Highs and lows are always a theme in triathlon, and this month had some of the most extreme of both. Winning my favorite races was an incredible high, but blowing the chance for a breakout performance in a pro race hurts real, real bad. These are the punches we have to roll with, so here I am. This last week of September hasn’t been my best, with a nasty head cold and just a lot of tiredness, but today we are exactly four weeks out from 70.3 Waco, and ten weeks to my season finale, Challenge Daytona. That leaves plenty of time to recalibrate and build up some fitness before we call it a year. Thanks for reading.
Since being my first half iron race in 2010, Pumpkinman has been my favorite race weekend, and this year’s races were no exception. Saturday was the sprint, roughly an hour of redline racing. Although the short swim left me with a deficit to the leader, the insanely steep run up from the pond and a smooth transition quickly put me in the front of the race, and from there I never looked back. Power on the bike was right on target, and pace on the run course was good (enough) to stay out in front all the way to the finish line. Getting that monkey off my back was great, after not winning at Pumpkinman since 2015 in a close battle.
On day two, Pumpkinman offers two races, the half iron or the new Olympic distance. Because a good half marathon takes a heavy toll on my body and requires a significant recovery period (which eats into precious training time), I opted for the Olympic distance. The same swimmer got a lead right away, and to his credit it took a full 15 minutes to catch him on the bike, much longer than it took on day one! After getting a hold on the lead, it was the same playbook from the sprint, good power on the bike, and good (enough!) running to come through with another victory.
No recap of Pumpkinman would be complete without at least a mention of the post-race food. Do you love cold pizza and orange slices? Me neither. After the sprint race on Saturday, you get a beautiful brunch buffet, complete with mimosas and a bloody Mary bar. The pumpkin pancakes are the perfect meal to go with the fall theme. On day two you get a full Thanksgiving style dinner with all the works. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, squash, and of course great beer. To say that Pumpkinman wins best post-race food is the understatement of a lifetime, and implies it is actually a contest. I go to more races than the average Joe, and I’m still waiting for a race to come anywhere near this quality.
Racing is fun, and winning is always my favorite result, but something about racing at Pumpkinman transcends the usual swim-bike-run contest. You’ll never mistake the environment for the intense and over the top Ironman and 70.3 races, but rather notice something very different about the way people carry themselves here. Even the fastest, most competitive athletes, are just having a great, fun time. Everybody is happy. Laughter is in the air. Sure, there’s a clock to beat, but that’s just one small detail. To me, Pumpkinman is everything great about grassroots triathlon, and at the end of the day, just a fantastic reminder that triathlon is supposed to be fun, a fact that is far too easy to forget at other races. I promise that if you put Pumpkinman on your race calendar next season, it will be the highlight of your season.
With all that said, I did race again in September, at the incredibly competitive 70.3 Augusta. The drive was long, but neatly split into two days of travel. The first leg was Saratoga to northern Virginia to spend a little time with my brother, and to finally ask him to be my best man! Then the rest of the way down to Georgia. I will keep this race recap short, because frankly I had an awful day and am still holding some anger at myself for missing an opportunity to put a great race together. The 1.2 mile swim was downriver, a huge advantage to a relatively weak swimmer. My deficit to the front was just 2:30, far and away the closest to the front I have ever been after the swim on the 70.3 circuit. At first transition I was at the tail of a group of guys who I knew were strong cyclists. It was a best case scenario. On the bike we all went out pretty hard before the pace settled, and then for the majority of the ride we were a group of ten, with perhaps 3-4 of us doing the work at the front. The bike course crossed some railroad tracks, which caused both of my bottles to launch. I spent about 40 minutes of the ride with no fluids on a hot day, which would cost me later on the run course. I matched the 2:08 bike split I had at Steelhead a month ago, and spent less time pulling the group along at the front. On paper everything looked perfect. Once onto the run, I had all the pacemakers to choose from, but none of the strength to go with anybody. It was strange, because nothing felt awful right away, but there was no spring in my step, and it was insane work just to hold pace in the first five kilometers. Not long after the 4 mile marker, I was slowed to a casual jog. I kept going with hopes of catching that second wind, but no such luck. At ten miles I was reduced to a walk/jog, and came through the finish with my worst half marathon in memory.
Highs and lows are always a theme in triathlon, and this month had some of the most extreme of both. Winning my favorite races was an incredible high, but blowing the chance for a breakout performance in a pro race hurts real, real bad. These are the punches we have to roll with, so here I am. This last week of September hasn’t been my best, with a nasty head cold and just a lot of tiredness, but today we are exactly four weeks out from 70.3 Waco, and ten weeks to my season finale, Challenge Daytona. That leaves plenty of time to recalibrate and build up some fitness before we call it a year. Thanks for reading.
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