Wednesday, June 4, 2008

The Plot Thickens

So here is the short list of super competitive people I'll be going up against this Sunday, and a few of their accolades:

Scott DeFilippis - from NJ, raced against him in high school. Beast of a runner, went 1:05 in the half last year and a 2:24 first ever marathon. Competed in California Half Ironman looking for the Hawaii spot, had a bad race. Swims probably about the same as I do, I should be quicker on the bike, he'll probably put close to 10 minutes into me on the run if he has a good day.

Matias Palavecino - my buddy Matias, from down in DC, last year earned age group spot number 3. Fortunately for me, he already did Hawaii. That was a good rhyme. Anyway he swims faster, rides slower and runs a LOT faster. Fastest run of the day last year at 1:13:58 (5:38/mile). I don't think he'd take the slot this year if awarded to him.

Michael Flanagan - tremendous swimmer, last year rode as fast as I'm hoping to ride this year (I beat his bike split at Columbia, and then he dropped out of the run) and I am a faster runner.

Andrew Sause - picked up the Hawaii spot last year, all around good race. Great swim, solid bike, decent run. Maybe he won't want to go again this year.

Todd Stackhouse - PA guy, unbelievable swimmer, I did have about 1:10 on him after the bike, not a very good runner.

A few other names include Adam Daigneault, Ryan Strohl and Josh Hunsberger. I could be missing a few competitors, as truthfully I didn't have the energy to research all 90+ athletes in the age group, but this will do for now. If the eventual winner comes from outside this group, I'll be surprised.

As of writing this, my foot is feeling marginally better. Marginally. I will, however, get to the finish line come hell or high water. My fingers are crossed that the next few days can aid in recovery and I don't come into this race too stale, and that if anything my bike split is monsterous.

4 comments:

Jake Marren said...

RM, maybe you could elaborate on what types of interactions are prohibited between spectators and athletes. Would it be impermissible for spectators to shout out your position relative to these competitors?

JC

Arjun Majumdar said...

I agree. We might even need to have a pre-race meeting where we make sure nobody does anything stupid. That said, i fully encourage people to do outrageous stuff that doesn't get Ryan dq'ed (costumes anyone?).

RM said...

Holy crap - Arjun Arjundar posted a comment?? I thought your name was just Arjun on here. Anyway I am a super huge dork and of course did a lot of recon work to come up with everyone's anticipated times.

We should have a pre-race meeting to go over ground rules, but the basics are that obviously that I can't be helped in any way (see also: no running alongside for any distance, no handing me food or water). Encouragement is fine, and encouraged. You can also yell my place relative to others. If there are 90 people in my age-group, I expect, to be in the top 1/3 out of the water. My goal is fastest bike split of the day in my age group, which, if good enough, should catapult me into top 5-10. From there I'll need to reel in whomever is in front, and there may be a guy or two behind me off the bike that I'm very concerned about.

RM said...

Here's the official word from the race docs:

3. NO INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT VEHICLES OR NON-PARTICIPANT ESCORT RUNNERS ARE ALLOWED. This is an individual endurance event. Teamwork as a result of outside assistance, which provides an advantage over single competitors, is not allowed. Individual support vehicles or non-participant escort runners will result in disqualification. A non-participant escort runner includes contestants who have withdrawn from the race, have been disqualified or have finished the race. Friends, family, members, coaches or supporters of any type may not bike, drive or run alongside contestant, may not pass food or other items to contestant and should be warned to stay completely clear of all contestants to avoid the disqualification of a contestant. It is incumbent upon each contestant to immediately reject any attempt to assist, follow, or escort. It IS permissible for a contestant who is still competing to run with other contestants who are still competing.