First off, a huge THANK YOU to my sponsors:

Team Chocolate Milk – #Buildit, the most delicious recovery drink.

Headsweats – super comfortable visors & hats, discount code: CHANTHONY25
ISM Seat – comfortable & innovative saddles
Mineola Bicycle & Mower – the best bicycle store in Long Island!

Rev3 events have been growing across the US. The Rev3 Quassy Half  on June 1 ’14 was the 6th edition of the race, which takes place in Quassy Amusement Park. Going into this race, I knew that I would not be properly tapering for it because of my focus towards IRONMAN Lake Placid on July 27th. Nevertheless, the Quassy Half course provided a significant amount of elevation gain, undulating hills and punchy climbs that I would help simulate those up in Lake Placid/Wilmington/Whiteface.

I made the drive up from NYC to Quassy on Saturday afternoon and snuck in a quick practice swim. The water reminded me of the Patriot Half up in East Freetown, MA; clear lake water, cool & calm. Later on, I met up with my some Whippet triathletes, checked in our bikes and of course, got some pre race snapshots!

Race Day – June 1, 2014

I started in the second swim wave, which went out at 6:55am. My field had a large contention of strong swimmers, and knowing that my rib was still a bit fragile from last week’s crash, the only thing to do was to swim conservatively and away from swimmers that could potentially kick me in the rib (by accident of course). The swim took me just over 40 minutes – nothing special to report home to.

Knowing that this was a ‘training’ race, I did not study any course maps or elevation charts. Sometimes it’s more fun to not know what’s coming up ahead (right?). And in this case, the climbs during the bike course seemed to be never ending – the compact crankset did wonders for this course. I think Rev3 did an excellent job with the course marshals and aid stations. There were a few technical descents, but they were not a problem since the course was well marked. Road conditions were excellent as well – it’s rare to find a Northeast course that doesn’t have a least a few large potholes.

I was happy to ride within my wattage range, saving precious leg power for the run. Rumors were going around about how hilly the run was…T2 in less than 90 seconds, where I slipped on some cushiony socks, my Newton Elite’s, race belt, sunglasses and Headsweats Visor.

The run was a memorable one, especially the dirt road section where the climb was separated into three portions – just when you think you’ve gotten to the top, you make a turn and another hill smacks you in the face. My legs did not like the steep uphills, nor did they like the steep descents. According to the Garmin file, there was a net gain of 900 feet over the 13.1 miles, not to mention a climb right after Mile 12. Besides Mile 1 and 2, were there even long flats during this run? nope! Run split was a 1:33 – and it was a huge positive split.

Here’s the breakdown of my result:

Also, the guys at the Rev3 Quassy Half kept their tradition of free finisher photos. Here’s one of me shuffling towards the finish:

After we all finished, it was all smiles:

And of course, my bike & run results would not have been possible without the clear direction from Jim. Shoutout to Maggie & Keri for cheering and taking awesome race photos! And congrats to anyone who finished the Quassy Half.

Time to get back to work – Ironman Lake Placid is just around the bend.