Roughly 14 years ago I read about this crazy race in New Paltz, NY called the Survival of the Shawangunks Triathlon (www.sostriathlon.com). This 8 stage, point to point race is comprised of one 30 mile bike leg, and then 7 alternating run and swim legs where you must keep all of your gear with you with no outside aid. I was intrigued by the race and every couple of years I'd try to interest some of my tri friends to sign up with me. I got close a couple of times…..but every time, my friends bailed out before the Halloween night, midnight registration. The race is so remote that they only open 150 slots per year. Time after time, I thought to myself "next year….I'll find someone that wants to do this thing".
Finally, last October I decided that I was ever to do the race, I'd have to damn the torpedoes and do it on my own….otherwise I'd wake up someday and realize I wasn't able to anymore…best decision I ever made, by the way.
So as not to bore you with senseless details, I did some training on the course thanks to SOS veterans Mike Halstead, Phil Vondra, and Mike Vance. These guys gave me a preview of what I was in store for a month before the actual race. I trained back at home in New Mexico as best I could…approximating the conditions and transitions that I'd face on race day. I went back and forth on issues of wearing socks, using a dry bag, what shoes to run in, nutrition….but on race day, it all worked out. That's kind of the way the SOS goes…whatever you get on race day, you make the best of it.
Bike - 30 miles - The bike is a group wave start from the Ulster County Fairgrounds where I'd met my super crew Susan Ann Glass who graciously volunteered to help me out at this year's race. Race check in is easy…give your name at the registration table, get your body marked and get your bike. You never come back to the fairgrounds so there is no transition to set up. I was in the 5th wave with about 20-25 guys and when our time came….the gun went off…and so did we. I planned a very conservative ride so as to prepare for the 7 additional legs of the race…..and I assumed most of the guys who had done the race before would do the same….man was I wrong! When the gun went off…..so did about 20 of the guys in my wave….blasting up the road as if it were a time trial. Within 2 miles the last couple of stragglers had passed me and I was in dead last in my wave. I couldn't believe it! I was riding at 21+ mph and getting dropped like a bad habit. I'm generally one of the stronger cyclists in my AG so I got concerned that maybe they knew something I didn't…but decided to stay with my plan and ride easy. Within another few miles I began catching some of the guys in my wave…as well as some from previous waves….most of the ride is on quiet country roads with little traffic….and the first 25 miles would be considered flat to slightly rolling. I was putting very little effort into keeping the wheels turning and feeling well within my capabilities. The last 5 miles climbs about 1000 vertical feet to Minnewaska State Park…where your crew will help you transition to run #1. The climb is pretty steady with 3 areas where it flattens out a bit. I enjoyed the climb more than the rest of the ride and had a small group that I was going back and forth with as we approached the park. The last bit is a bit steeper….maybe 5-6% for a mile…but nothing earthshaking. I realize I rode too conservatively this time…even though I'd ridden the course in training. I wound up shipping my road bike out for the race as I couldn't fit my new QR in the bike case without taking the aerobars off the base bars. I didn't have much time after my arrival to build the bike and wanted to make sure everything was adjusted right. Next time I'll find a way to get my tri bike out there as that would have been the correct choice for the race.
Run #1 - Your crew grabs your bike at the park entrance and guides you to where they've set up your transition area. After the fact I saw this picture of my T1 and laughed at how pitiful it was compared to my friend Amy's (blue towel)…
but as noted, whatever you take from here…you carry to the finish line. I sprayed on some sunscreen….threw on my Altra One2s and headed out on the 4.5 mile run. This run felt great…my legs were responding well and the temps were still pretty cool (although still very humid). The first big test is a hill called Cardiac which looks to be about .75 miles long at about 13-15%. I knew I'd walk it (and did) but resumed running at the top. The only real technical section of the entire run course is the trail around the lake to the first swim start….rocks, roots, grass with rocks underneath…I paid careful attention and avoided any mishaps.
Swim #1 - This 1.1 mile swim in Lake Awosting was the one giving me nightmares. The distance didn't worry me…I've swum 2.4 miles sans wetsuit in the Ohio River twice…it was the cramps that everyone said I'd have that worried me. At the entry point…a narrow strip of dirt leading downhill to the lake, a few athletes bunched up…no one seeming to want to go first. I just jumped in with my shoes on….then took them off while I was in waist deep water. I put my socks and headband into the shoes, shoved the shoes up the back of my shorts and put on my swim cap and goggles. Mistake #1…didn't clean the anti fog goo well enough from my goggles and was blind in my left eye within 100 yards. At 250 yards the stinging was getting unbearable so I swam for shallow water to stand up and clean them out. That's the point I realized that not only did we have kayak support…but scuba divers standing at the ready as well. I've NEVER been at a race with that kind of swim safety in place. I swam off along the shoreline…..there were no buoys and none were needed…..you just swim along the far shore to the exit point. I did start to develop some cramps a bit past the halfway point…..some of them my fault. I didn't shove my left shoe far enough up the back of my leg…so it was hitting behind my knee and causing an unnatural motion. That was giving me issues….and I made a mental note to do a better job on the next swims of setting my shoes properly. The water is crystal clear….you could see trees and rocks at the bottom 20 foot below you….much different than most races I've done (where you probably don't want to know what's 20 foot below you). At the swim exit, in shallow water…it was like a MASH unit…athletes laying the water unable to stand up due to cramping. It was a shallow water exit and I willed myself to get up and out. I had prepared to put my shoes on while in the water but I just couldn't do it as my hamstrings, feet, and calves traded places in causing searing pain. I hobbled onto the shore and took the advice of one of the many wonderful volunteers "keep moving!….that's the only way to get rid of those cramps"..so I did….and it did work.
Run #2 - 5.5 miles up to Castle Rock and down to the next swim. I ran about 1/2 mile with no socks as I let my Altras drain….constantly wringing out my socks in the process. I had planned to bring 2 dry pair in baggies with me….but I decided on just one which I left tucked safely in my jersey. What I found was that Drymax socks drain out quickly and by just squeezing the water out for a minute I was able to sit on a rock, put the socks and shoes back on…and the water issue never bothered me. I've got to give credit to Altra for designing some amazing shoes…because not only are the One2s light, but they are stable on the gravel trails, drain water very quickly, and I did not get ONE blister or hot spot for the entire 19 miles of running. Thanks Altra! As expected, the water cooled my body temperature and the boost I got from that lasted about 2 miles on the uphill to the lookout at Castle Rock. There was an aid station there (and incredible views) where I fueled up and started the rolling downhill to the next swim. This is the portion of the race that gets kind of lonely as athletes are spread out…you don't have much company on the trails. I'd run for 10, even 20 minutes and not see another soul….but the scenery was beautiful and the feeling of finally getting to do this race was pushing me ahead.
Swim #2 - .5 miles in Lake Minnewaska (really?..seemed longer…and the SOS Facebook page even has it listed at .7 miles). This swim goes straight across the lake. The SOS crew stretches a yellow rope attached to buoys the entire way so sighting is very easy…just swim along the cable. I was with/around 2 other guys on this swim and did a better job of getting my shoes tucked up correctly to avoid the issued I had in Awosting. I started getting cramps in my toes…..which were an inconvenience but not really a serious issue….but my shoulder was another story entirely. I've got bad shoulders…but have had ZERO issues in training and all summer with them. Somehow about halfway thru this swim my left shoulder started aching badly and I wondered if I'd have to lay on my back for the final swim in Mohonk….then I started developing cramps in my forearms too. None of these were the scary "I might sink to the bottom" variety that I feared in my legs….but they gave me something to strategize about once I exited the lake. The lake exit has a rock shelf and the volunteer gave me great advice to sit for a minute and get my bearings before trying to stand up. I did….and used the rocks to get my shoes (again, sans socks) on. It was here that Susan Ann and her friends had come to cheer Amy and I out of the water and it so nice to hear someone yelling for me….up until the point that Susan yelled "This isn't a picnic Michael, get going!!" She shocked me out of my comfy seat and off I ran…
Run #3 - 8 miles - After a steep, paved downhill run to the trail….you cross a beautiful waterfall for the longest run of the race. I got my socks on and headed off for what I had hoped would be a pretty flat run. The first 4 miles are flat…..with aid stations every 2 miles or so. Once we hit the mile 4 aid station the trail started going up. Not steeply…..but not ever letting up. I was starting to feel the fatigue by this point and so I decided to walk until the trail leveled out…..which it never did. This is the domain of the rock climbers of the Shawangunks…with climbers carrying their gear along the trail by the dozens…I continued to wait in vain for some flats but approaching the next big challenge…a hill called Godzilla, they never appeared. After cresting Godzilla (about .7 miles at maybe 12-13%) we had a short run to where a volunteer guided us off the gravel trails to some dirt that would lead us downhill to the final swim.
Swim #3 - Lake Mohonk .5 miles - I was so glad to be back in the water…..it was starting to heat up and the 71 degree water felt amazing. Again, the same drill….lose the shoes, tuck them up tight in your shorts, get your cap and goggles on and swim. This swim seemed like .5 miles and you could see the Mohonk House hotel (a grand site to behold) every time you looked up to sight. The race was very spread out here….I don't think I saw another swimmer the entire time I was in this lake. Approaching the finish you see a rock wall with volunteers at the top. There is another underwater rock ledge that you are guided to….and the volunteers talk you up the wall which you have to climb to exit the lake. It sounds like a lot but it's probably only 6-7 feet high. At the top there are benches to put your shoes on for the final run to the Survivor's Line. Again…Susan Ann and friends were here cheering which was a welcome boost after 50 miles…
Run #4 - .7 miles with 1000 feet of elevation gain to the Skytop Tower - Susan snapped a couple of pictures as I got ready to charge up the hill. A few people had decided to skip putting their shoes on which I assume they'd regret as this was a steep gravel patch with rocks, steps, and who knows what else. All I knew was I was close to being a Survivor and didn't want to walk anymore….I started chugging up the hill doing my best impression of someone running. Since the path is the only way down….finishers and their families were walking down…but every time a runner approached they'd move to the side of the trail and start cheering you up. I had one guy in front of me who was doing some good pace setting for the first half…..but he started walking the steps. There wasn't really anyplace to pass and I didn't want to be a jerk and ask him to move aside so I just stayed on his heels as we worked our way up. There is a series of 6-7 rock steps near the top and suddenly the sky opens up as there is nothing higher to climb……you make a right turn and the line is 100 feet away. I was so pumped to finish this race after dreaming about it for years……I crossed the line and couldn't move another step for a minute or two. I am a Survivor!!
This is one of the most well supported races I've ever done…..the people and volunteers are crazy in love with the SOS race…and it shows. Although I was alone for much of my day I never felt alone because of the energy of this event. I had expected I could finish in about 6:15 but my actual time was about 7 hours…..I learned a few things that I'll use next time (yes…as long as I can get in, there WILL be a next time) :-)
1. Ride a bit harder and don't second guess myself.
2. Don't bother with anything that is not absolutely necessary. I didn't need extra socks, an inhaler, or a headband. Keep it as simple as possible. I'm not sure that wearing a jersey is even advisable (except for women I guess..) as the drag slows you down in the water…and without carrying anything extra I didn't really even need the pockets.
3. Speed up the transitions. I lost a lot of time getting in and out of the lakes. I'd wear shorts that didn't have a tight leg band so I could more easily get my shoes in there.
4. Do more long, climbing trail runs. I focused so much on the transitional training…in the water, out of the water…but never really ran more than 5K at a time between swims. I didn't need as much training running into and out of the lake…but I needed more trail time climbing…that would have helped on the 8 mile run leg. I'm sure I lost 15 minutes there…
5. Smile more (I'm just kidding) there was no way I could smile more than I did….this is a freaking amazing race that I can't wait to get back to. It's a race, a challenge, and a puzzle all in one.
Many, many thanks to my sponsors Altra Running Ambassador Team, Trisports.com, Xterra Wetsuits, Boston Bill Sunglasses and Endurance Obsession. I also wanted to say that I got major love for my Champion Systems EO racing kit which performed really well and got lots of praise for the Porsche Le Mans inspired graphics.
SOS Tri…I'll be back….I hope some of you will join me for the fun!
GO EO!!
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