Drippin' With Swag

It was a fantastic weekend of racing with some amazing performances from around the world on Sunday.

In beautiful Los Cabos, Mexico, Alyssa Godesky once again punched her ticket to the Ironman World Championship in Kona this October. After a couple of 2nd place age group performances the past couple of seasons, she finally got an age group win - and it was big. Her time of 10:53:30 was nearly an hour ahead of her nearest competitor. Splits: 1:07:46 swim, 5:43 bike, and a 3:55:05 marathon in the heat (90 degrees). And she was nipping at the heels of some of the female pros!

Closer to home, PJ Anderer ran the Caesar Rodney Half Marathon in Wilmington. Last week he demolished the Shamrock 5k (after dropping his keys in the first mile and going back to retrieve them, no less), so he was feeling confident heading into this one that he could break 1:30. And break it he did - 1:27:31! PJ is having an excellent 2013 so far. Keep it up!

Down in Sarasota, the Spring Training home of the Orioles, Lillian Pinault ran 1:38:12 at the Sarasota Half. There's no money and it's not very competitive, but Lillian said it's a beautiful course and gave the race high marks.

We had Dr. Rodney Taylor up at the NYC Half Marathon, running 1:29:55, and in Connecticut, Allison Letourneau ran - and won - the Max's O'Hartford 5k in 18:21.

At Virginia Beach's Shamrock Marathon, Dave Berdan finished 4th in 2:23:21. Not surprising, wind was a factor, and he commended the winner's remarkable 2:17 effort. Dave said that one minute he was running his pace just fine, and the next he turned into the wind and poof, 20 seconds slower. A tough day, but another great race under his belt.

So many awesome results, but our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week went to Joel Gladfelter for his 3 minute PR in the half on Saturday. 

We did have an AutoZone In the Zone award this week, which went to Nate Brigham. Nate has been battling some hampering issues for the past month which have limited his hard training, and to an extent his swag. But his race Saturday validated his fitness, and with just a month to go til the big day, should have him feeling good.

And we also had a KC Masterpiece Award for coming through in the clutch - and that went to Justin Gerbereux for his amazing efforts on Saturday.

The A Team

It's one of the best weekends of the fall: Baltimore Running Festival and Ironman World Championships, two  events near and dear to my heart, and this year was no different. I already sent out the email with results, so I'll just highlight a few performances from the weekend.

Baltimore Marathon

I was most impressed with Brennan Feldhausen's 2:57:02 run, negative splitting (1:31-1:26) and covering his last 10k under 39 minutes. As we all know, Brennan's season typically does not favor fall races, and this year, with the Orioles advancing to the playoffs, he hardly had time to run at all, let alone do the work necessary to run a great marathon. He had some help out there from the likes of Barf, Conrad, and CTR, so props to those guys as well. (Here's Brennan, his sister Erin, their friend, and a Chick-Fil-A cow)

Baltimore Half Marathon

Nate Brigham is a beast. In the spring he got himself into 2:31 shape, and after a mostly chill summer, he is back and giving Philly a go next month. Along the way he intended to use the half as a test of his fitness. He won the race handily, running 1:11:39 on the difficult course. Joel Brusewitz raced a distance over 10 miles for the first time in many, many years, and Tim Parker recorded a course best for Baltimore.

The ladies field was a little faster this year than it's been, so Jackie Truncellito's (now Jackie Range) 1:24:21 was "only" good enough for 5th. But it's also only 8 seconds off her PR, set in 2009 at the flat B&A Trail Half.

Baltimore Relay

It was good to see a bunch of people at least competing in something out there, and while we only fielded one official Falls Road team, the ladies team known also as Great Dames Be Pimpin, they were victorious. Great efforts from Carly Page, Melissa Tanner, Fiana Kumm, and Meg McNew.

Ironman World Championship

As Alyssa Godesky is still unwinding from the race, hopefully we'll see a race report from her soon. In the meantime, I can say that based on all accounts of the day, the conditions were the toughest they've been in at least a decade. The infamous Kona Winds were strong, and led to slow swim, bike, and run splits. The respective men's and women's winners, Pete Jacobs and Leanda Cave, were 15-20 minutes slower than 2011 times, which were in near-perfect conditions (for Kona).

Alyssa had a solid swim, and handled the winds well on the bike. She was assessed a drafting penalty (4 minutes on the side of the road) after a guy passed her on a hill, then sat up. It was pretty bogus. Following the loss of momentum it was back on the roads, and into a strong headwind for the final 22 miles. Her bike split of 5:48 wasn't far off her best IM bike split, and on the tough day - she was pleased.

Heading into the run it was hot...really hot, but she got her legs under her and finished up strong at 11:06:08.

Other Weekend Action

There were some other events going on this weekend. Tom Stott took 6th at the Hagerstown Duathlon - his first multisport event in a long time. Liz Laseter and Rodney Taylor competed in the Waterman's Sprint Triathlon on Sunday. Liz was 2nd F overall and Rodney had just done the Baltimore Marathon the day before. Collin Anderson won the Dracula Dash for Hope 5k on some muddy grass.

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week went to Nate Brigham!

Alyssa Godesky 25th in Age Group at Hawaii Ironman

Crossing the line just past midnight EST, Alyssa Godesky has etched her name into the history books as the cream of the crop in the sport of triathlon. Alyssa completed the Ironman World Championship in 11:06:08 on what was an exceptionally hot and windy day in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. She swam 1:08:37, rode 5:48 and ran a 4:02 marathon on pure grit. Her reward? Perhaps the best welcome from the voice of the Ironman, Mike Reilly:

"Here comes Alyssa Godesky, who likes to abbreviate words, tell funny jokes, and she's holding out for the Orioles to win!"

She looked pretty exhausted crossing the line, and rightfully so. On both the men's and women's side, winning times were 15-20 minutes slower than 2011, when near-perfect conditions led to a men's course record and extremely fast marathon times. Today's marathon times were 7-10 minutes slower, on average, for the top pros, with many finding the day too much to handle. Race leader for much of the day, Marino Vanhoenacker, was taken away by ambulance after severe heat exhaustion halfway into the marathon.

For Alyssa, this is her 6th Ironman in the past 3 seasons, and wouldn't you know it - The Baltimore Sun just did a little story on her, which incidentally was published around the same time she finished!

Alyssa Godesky, You Are An Ironman!

All I Want For My Birthday

Perhaps it was the calm before the fall storm, but it was a pretty quiet weekend on the racing front. Or maybe it was just sheer exhaustion, as the Orioles played three games between Friday and Monday, which all finished midnight or later after a few lengthy delays. The atmosphere in Baltimore is great right now, and we'll keep supporting the Birds as they take on the Pinstripes in New York.

Chicago Marathon on Sunday was a thing of beauty, as Ethiopian Tsegaye Kebede ran a perfect race, negative splitting a Course Record 2:04:38. Andrew Beef Jaffe didn't quite negative split, but still ran 5 minutes faster than he went earlier this year at Boston, crossing the line in 219th place overall in 2:43:45. Molly Eagen ran a big PR, finishing in 3:57:48.

Nationally there were some big events in the B.A.A. Half Marathon and Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Miler, but there wasn't much for us out here. As new editor-in-chief of the Washington Running Report/GRC runner Charlie Ban says, we need to get ourselves out to Great Allegany 15k next year. So let's put that on the schedule and get it done.

We haven't seen Seth Tibbitts' name in a while, but he finished 2nd at the Casey Cares 5k in 17:51. Only first place got any money though, and it was solid - $250. Megan DiGregorio was sneaky and made sure she didn't mention it to anybody, and got the win in 18:33. Fiana York was 3rd in 19:02.

Down in Columbia, the REV3 Half Full Triathlon, featuring an Olympic distance event as well as a half iron, went on despite some absolutely atrocious weather for triathlon. The pros were racing the Olympic, as were the college kids (it was the Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Championship), but the ballers were racing the half. And by ballers, I mean yours truly and Lance Armstrong. I have to give a shout out to Mike Zero, who the morning after his birthday and the Virgin Free Fest concert came out to spectate, and really helped me out at the end of the race when I was in rough shape.

Our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week went to Jim Adams, as he raced not once, but TWICE this weekend. Sunday he did the Harvest Harrier 5k in Columbia, after running the Blue Steel Stampede 10k on Saturday. Both were challenging trail races.

We've got the Baltimore Running Festival this weekend, the expo starts Thursday. I hope everyone has everything ready! I'll be on the course on Saturday, so if you need anything, be sure to let me know. I can't promise I'll be able to carry too much, like I won't be able to take your clothes probably, but if you think you'll need any support, holler.

And of course we have triathlon's biggest event this Saturday - IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS from Kona! Baltimore + Kona, the best day of the fall.

And It's Not Even My Birthday

Well with no TRACK to watch tonight, I figured it was as good a time as any to get the weekend recap going.

Dreaded Druid Hills 10k was on Saturday morning, and you can click on a link to results on the right side. Jim and crew put on another great event, and special thanks to all the volunteers: Sara B, Fast Dan, Mike Zero, Dave P, my bro Kevin, Denise, Conrad, Amy, Cheese, Dan Goodman, Meg D, Pete, Karen, etc. This is a super tough race and the first thing I learned when I moved here in 2005 is that we don't run this one. Jim always used to think it was funny to have the faster folks out at the turnaround on top of the hardest hill handing out water. The conditions were pretty decent, but the times were not. Jack Flowers took 4th in 39:01. Jon Miller was 21st in 43:58, and Carla Williams finished 2nd among the women in 44:08. Madeline Tink Dulac was 5th in 46:21, and Sara Damiano was 12th in 49:04.

A result I missed in the email was the Spirit of Gettysburg 5k. Dave Berdan was 3rd in 15:18 and Tristram Thomas was 8th in 16:11. TT is certainly racking up the races before he heads out to Italy next week!

Sunday was the Baltimore Women's Classic 5k, and shout to our girls who all finished way up in the results, so I didn't have to look very far! Darcy McDonald finished 3rd to two foreigners, running 17:32. Megan DiGregorio, Liz Laseter, and Meg McNew went 5-6-7 in 18:35, 18:37, 18:42. For McNew it was her first run in the week since the marathon. Becky Parks was disappointed with her 19:33 result, but won't let it get her down, and Amy Horst is making some progress, as she went 19:45. Denise Knickman crossed in 19:56, and Lillian Pinault had a great race, running 20:11 - SO close to getting under 20! Marci Benda was just behind her in 20:14. Karen Menge had another consistent result, running 23:28.

Out in Columbia, another result I missed was the Celebrating Heroes Triathlon. Anthony van Lierop finished 2nd, Tom Stack was 5th, and Chris Scott was 41st. But the day's big story was the return to racing by Allison Gerbereux, who was 15th female and 2nd in her age group! She hasn't raced in years so it's cool to see her back. 3 small children will usually deplete your time and available energy.

Up in Philadelphia-town, a few of us were racing the PHLY Tri, part of the Toyota/Lifetime Fitness Series. Marc Malott overcame a slow swim with a monster bike, catapulting himself into a very high place in the amateur division, and finishing 31st overall. Mike Mashner had a very even race, and was just behind in 36th. Andy Sovonick fell ill just prior to the weekend, courtesy of Tom Stott, but managed to hold his own, finishing 46th I believe. Pro and former GRCer Lindsey Jerdonek finished 9th, but was then disqualified on account of a pack of women inadvertently cutting one of the buoys in the swim. A lot of weird rules things happened in triathlon this weekend, hopefully I'll have some time to address them this week.

The day's big performer - and earner of our Purple Drink Athlete of the Week - was Alyssa Godesky. Alyssa qualified for Ironman World Championships in Kona at her last Ironman in Arizona, so Ironman Coeur d'Alene was just to get one under her legs before her trip to the Big Island. With water temps in the 55 degree range and rain/chop to contend with, she recorded an IM swim PR at 1:04, and then overcame a 4 minute penalty on the bike to go from 8th out of the water (AG) to 2nd off the bike. For a little bit we thought she'd catch the leader on the run, but she just ran out of real estate. She still had the fastest run of the day in her AG (3:45) and went 10:50:44 on a tough course. She was 22nd F overall and had she needed it, would have earned a spot to Hawaii. Instead, the 3rd place girl was made very happy at rolldown. David Lee also competed, and had a very even race, only showing signs of fatigue in the last 7 miles (understandable!). He went 11:37:46.

Some tremendous displays of ballerness and sportsmanship landed pro athletes in our other award spots. Notably, Galen Rupp earned the KC Masterpiece Award for helping keep the tempo high to get his friend and training partner, Dathan Ritzenhein, to the Olympics in the 10,000m. Ashton Eaton - what else can you say about his performance - earned Baller of the Year. The NOS Award goes to Duane Solomon, as he finished 3rd in the 800m to punch his ticket to London - but ONLY because he also ran under the A standard, which he hadn't yet achieved.

The Day Was a Fairytale

Honey Badger Don't Care

And now for the recap on our second PDAW winner, Alyssa Godesky.

Part II: Alyssa Says Aloha to the Big Island

Alyssa, as we've always known her, is a tremendous endurance athlete, having competed in some of the biggest ultra marathons on the continent.  She has also experienced success in the world of multisport, with finishes at Ironman Louisville 2009 and Ironman Wisconsin 2010.  In 2009, she went under 12 hours, in spite of her negligible volume of swimming and cycling.  A year later, with a hair more swimming under her belt, and much more cycling, she went faster, to the tune of an 11:36. 

It was around this time that she began to think seriously about her goals and what she wanted to get out of the sport, and she decided to commit fully to triathlon - after one more January ultra.  She got in touch with multiple-Ironman champion, Hillary Biscay, to coach her, and dedicated every day to doing the training necessary to realize her ultimate goal: qualify for the World Championships in Kona.

The work was far from easy, in fact, it was the hardest training she'd ever done.  There were days when she surely would have preferred running alone in the woods for 6+ hours to the monster swim, bike, and run workouts Hillary was putting her through.  But something crazy happened: she quickly saw results, running PRs in distances from the mile to the half marathon, and found herself on a number of triathlon podiums. 

By the time the summer rolled around, she seemed fit and ready to go for Ironman Louisville.  The training had been perfect, but on race day, something didn't connect right, and her race came apart at the seams on the run.  It was disappointing, but the prospect of Ironman Arizona kept her in the game.

Training for one Ironman a year is tough.  Training for another one, just 11 short weeks after the first, and having those weeks come in the fall, when the weather starts to make you not want to put in the long days, was going to be a real challenge.  Ultimately, the work got done, and once again it was time to toe the invisible line in Tempe Town Lake for her 4th Ironman.

Ironman is a long, strange day.  Like any race, there are times when you feel great, and times when you feel like you're going to die.  You can have a great swim, feel terrible on the bike, but then have a great run.  You can feel off from the start.  You can feel better as the day goes on.  Whatever the case, you have to know how to budget your energy for 8 (if you're a pro) to 17 (if you're the last finisher) hours. 

Alyssa has written her own report(s) on her blog, which I'm sure many of you have read, but it's probably harder for her to realize just how her accomplishment measures up.  Fortunately, while I can't personally race anything well myself, I can put words to performances. 

Alyssa finished 21st out of amateur women, and 44th overall.  Her time (10:45:51) was a 50 minute improvement over her Wisconsin time, with a 1:05:38 swim, 5:45 bike split and an astounding 3:47 marathon that was the fastest run of her 25-29 age group.  In the age group, she finished 2nd.  The bike split is particularly impressive considering she got a flat on the second loop, and lost about 10 minutes getting it fixed. 

But most eye-popping was her run.  If you ever get the chance to compete in an Ironman, you'll see that anybody can put down a good swim and ride, but to string together 26 and some change miles after all that, well that's a different story.  Alyssa came into this race with an open marathon time of 3:31, from Marine Corps 2008.  While she would agree that it's probably a "soft" PR now, it's still just 16 minutes faster than what she ran on Sunday off the bike.  Her previous best Ironman run was 4:05 at Louisville 2009.

At Ironman events, you qualify for Kona solely based on your finishing place within your age group.  In F25-29, there are generally never more than 2 slots, due to the small field size.  It doesn't mean it's any less competitive, necessarily, and Alyssa knew what kind of times would usually place in the group.  Her goal for the year was to go 10:45.  Out of the water in 6th, and holding serve on the bike, that meant she had some serious work to do on the run.  She went to it and was running low 8 minute pace for the first half, before slowing a little.  But when she heard she was 3.5 minutes down on 2nd with 10k to go, she knew she was going to have to go faster.  The good news was that the girl in front of her was fading hard, and Alyssa was still moving great.  With Zero and Claire on course, they were able to count the time in between 2nd and Alyssa, and the gap was closing with every footfall. 

With a mile to go, the lead was 20-30 seconds.  Running on adrenaline, Alyssa hit her NOS button at just the right time, and blazed past the girl inside of a half mile before the finish, and held her off.  She crossed the line and collapsed, every ounce of energy had been left on the course.  Before the brought her to the med tent, she was able to find coach Hillary and let her know that "she got her" and, barring unforeseen circumstance, would pick up the 2nd of 2 Kona slots. 

When the results were confirmed, Alyssa had qualified for the World Championship, and had done so by hitting her time goal of 10:45. 

To qualify for Hawaii is an amazing feat.  To do it by running someone down in the last half mile, now that's EARNING it.  Truly awesome.  And now, armed with speed and confidence, what will 2012 have in store for Alyssa?