My Triathlon/Running History

I started working out on the treadmill around 1994. My workouts were nothing grand, a fast paced walk to a slow paced jog. In mid 2002 my brother Bob suggested we train for the Tupper Lake Sprint Triathlon. At first I laughed about it. I had never done any type of athletic competition outside of phys-ed class in school. I certainly wasn't in any great shape. I finally agreed and started seriously running on the treadmill, biking on the stationary bike and swimming 5 days a week.

When November rolled around, we decided to enter the Troy Turkey Trot 10k road race. This would be the first test of my athletic skills. Not knowing what to expect, I started out at a slow pace. In the end, I finished 245/550 and 44/74 in my age group. My pace was 7:52 for a time of 48:53. I was quite pleased with myself. (2002 Turkey Trot results)

I continued training through the winter on the treadmill, bike and the pool. When spring rolled around I thought I should get some more race experience. The first major race of the season in Rochester was the Runnin' of the Green. It's was a 5 mile road race. Once again I surprised myself with a finish of 173/1179 and 29/142 in my age group. My pace was 6:52 for a time of 34:11. (2003 Runnin' of the Green results)

With this success behind my, I decided to try the Lilac 10K run in May 2003. Once again I had another good run with a finish of 99/1220 and 21/130. My pace was 6:45 for a time of 42:01. (2003 Lilac 10k results)

Show time was rapidly approaching for the one we were training for. The big day came on June 30, 2003. It was a beautiful day, just the right temperature for biking and running. I was psyched to do well. I had been completing the 1/2 mile pool swim in about 14 minutes. My biking and running were looking good too. Race time arrived and the gun was fired. I knew I was in trouble in about 30 seconds. Pool swimming doesn't prepare one for getting kicked on the face, the turbulence of 100 people kicking, the murkiness of the water, etc. My enthusiasm for a good finish dropped quickly. I struggled through the swim and finished in 18:58 (28th in the swimming portion of the race). My transition was slow (about 3:30) as I worked to regain my composure. I was off on the bike (20 miles) which went well. I was passing some people and felt pretty good. My overall time on the bike was 1:07:26 which included both transitions. Coming off the bike, the legs felt like I was carrying lead weights in my shoes, but I was expecting that from having done bike/run bricks leading up to the race. After the first 1/2 mile, the legs started working and I started passing some more people. I finished the 6.5 mile run in 45:05 / 6:57 pace. Overall my time was 2:11:29. I ended up 11'th overall and 2'nd in my age group. I had met 1 of my 2 pre-race goals. I wanted to finish in the top 15 with a time of 2:07. (2003 Tupper Lake Sprint Triathlon results)

How'd my brother do in the triathlon? Great, considering he had battled a leg injury in the weeks leading up to the race and had the flu the week before the race. Unfortunately though, he decided that multisport racing wasn't his thing.

I on the other hand decided after my first tri that I was hooked on the running and multi-sport competitions. I continued training, and at the end of July I entered a 5K road race. I wanted to see how well I could run in a short distance race. In the 10 Ugly Men 5k race, I finished 60/494 and 4/36 in my age group. My pace was 6:15 for a time of 19:26. (2003 10 Ugly Men 5k results) The 4th place finish in my age group was good enough to earn me age group points in the Rochester Runner of the Year series.

A year has rolled around since my first race and I returned to the Troy Turkey Trot for the second time. My results have continued to improve as I set a new 10k PR with a finish of 40:35. Over the course of the year I shaved about 1:20 off my pace time.

UPDATE 5/24/04

Despite the rain and cold temperatures, the 2004 Lilac 10k proved to be a success. Not only did I set a new PR, I blew away my old 10k time. With a finish time of 39:44 for a 50/1021 finish I shaved 50 seconds off my previous 10k mark.

UPDATE 5/28/04

Another rainy day, and another great run. The Chase Corporate Challenge 3.5 mile race proves to be my best yet with a finish time of 21:37 for a 6:11 pace. I'm beginning to think that rainy days may be good for me.

UPDATE 6/7/04

Participated in the Pittsford Triathlon yesterday. 300yd pool swim, 15 mile bike and 3.1 mile run. Finished 3rd place male, ranking as my best performance yet. Pretty surprising since I was sick during the week leading up to the race. I've decided that in order to improve further I need extensive work on my transitions, as well as a tri bike to improve the middle portion of the race. For results see (2004 Pittsford Triathlon results)

UPDATE 6/30/04

I returned to Tupper Lake for the sprint triathlon this past weekend. I had a good performance, although not as good as I was hoping for. I managed a 6th place finish, 2nd in my age group, but my swim was only a marginal improvement from last year. I felt as though I swam much better than last year, but only managed to take about a minute off the time. My transitions still stink despite practicing for a couple of weeks since Pittsford. (2004 Tupper Lake Sprint Triathlon results)

UPDATE 7/19/04

Thing are still looking good. I ran in the Seneca Park Zoo Jungle Jog 5k yesterday and set another PR. I've finally broken the 6 minute mile barrier with a 5:57 performance. Final finish time was 18:28, good enough for 31'st overall and 4'th in age group.

UPDATE 7/24/04

Another great run this weekend in the 10 Ugly Men 5k. This was my best race last year, and again this year I have set a new 5k PR. Overall time was 18:15 - 5:53 pace. Once again it was good enough for 4'th in age group.

UPDATE 9/24/04

I participated in the Finger Lakes Sprint Triathlon on 9/19. Physically I had a great race with good times in the swim and bike and a great run. However, the transitions were really poor, wasting a total of 3.5 minutes in T1 and T2. Whatever could go wrong did. In T1, my socks got twisted up and I couldn't get them on straight, and I had trouble putting my biking shoes on. T2 was even worse. My fingers were numb from the cool bike ride, and I couldn't get my shoes tied. When I finally got the shoes sort of tied I took off for the run only to realize at the end of the bike rack that I forgot my number bib and had to backtrack 50 ft. to pick it up. The run was great, probably my best tri run ever despite my shoes coming untied about halfway through the run. Overall, 4th place finish, and 2nd in my age group. A few seconds here and there in the transition, and I could have been 3rd overall. Lessons learned - forget the socks, toughen the feet up and bike and run without socks, and get some lace locks so shoe tying isn't an issue. For results see (2004 Finger Lakes Sprint Triathlon).

UPDATE 11/21/04

I participated in the YMCA 5 mile Turkey Classic today. The temperature was great (low 50's) and aside from a bit of drizzle it was a great day for a run. I blew away my previous 5 mile PR by almost 3 minutes. I finished in 7'th place with a time of 29:59, and won my age group

UPDATE 11/29/04

Another year has rolled around and I returned to the Troy Turkey Trot once again (3rd time). This year it was a family event with Ashley running in the 1 mile race, Mel and Mike running in the 5k and me in the 10k. PR's were set by one and all, although it wasn't hard for Mel and Mike to PR since it was their first race. The 10k started out sunny and 60 with a light wind from the south (tail wind on the out part of the course). By the time I reached the turnaround the clouds were rolling in and the wind was about 20 MPH (now a headwind since I was heading back). About mile 4 the clouds let loose and the wind picked up to about 30 MPH. In the last 2 miles of the race about 1/4" of rain fell in 12 minutes. Despite the change in weather, I still reached a new 10k PR by about 2:30. All in all a great day for the whole family.

UPDATE 3/3/05

Well, the winter race season and the Freezeroo race series have finished. I competed in 5 of the 6 Freezeroo's this year. I finished 5'th overall in the series and 2'nd in my age group. Not bad considering I was nursing some posterior tibial tendonitis most of the winter. A couple of the races were somewhat painful and I probably would have been better off health wise if I hadn't run.

UPDATE 5/2/05

I ran in the 10 mile Mountain Goat Race in Syracuse yesterday. It's my longest race to date. I'm pleased with my performance, a 1:04:36 finish (6:28 pace), good enough for 64'th place overall. The course was hilly (hence the name), but it was a nice day with temps around 50.

UPDATE 6/3/05

Yesterday was the Chase Corporate Challenge - 3.5 miles on the RIT campus. It was a beautiful day for a run with temps in the mid 70's and sunny. I ran a great race for me with an overall pace of 5:49, although I was disappointed that the UR men's team ended up in 2nd place.

UPDATE 6/6/05

I won one. I won the Pittsford Triathlon yesterday. Results are viewable at (2005 Pittsford Triathlon).

UPDATE 8/17/05

It's been a while since my last update. My last race was the Tupper Lake Sprint Tri on 6/25. It was a great race (sort of). I'm still paying for my efforts. Let's start with the results. I left T2 in 4'th place crossing the mat at the same time as the eventual winner. As we headed up Rt. 3 for the 6.5 mile run I could see all 3 athletes that were ahead of me. I picked off the first 2 by mile 2 and moved into second place, but the eventual winner was getting further and further away from me. Not one to make excuses, but as I said I'm still paying for my efforts. I had tweaked my Achilles tendon the Tuesday before the race. I debated all week whether or not I was going to race. However, Tupper Lake being the first Tri I had ever done, I felt the urge to return, and also felt like I could do very well. As the run progressed past mile 1, I could feel the Achilles beginning to ache. By about 2 miles I was heavily favoring the bad ankle. Around mile five the calf on the other side started to tighten up because of the favoring of the other ankle. I was in second place and wasn't about to give up, (remember pain is temporary, quitting is forever or my other motto - suffering builds character), so I pushed on through. When I finally crossed the finish line still in second place (running 6:54 pace), I was immediatly escorted to the medical tent. It was clear to the medics at the finish line that there was an injury of some nature (I didn't need the medics to tell me that).

I went to my doctor on the Tuesday following the race. It was diagnosed as severe Achilles tendonitis. I've been going to physical therapy twice a week for the past 7 weeks. I'm just beginning to jog at a blistering 11 minute pace. The prognosis is for an extended rehabilitation period. It certainly wiped out the rest of what was looking to be a great race season. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have gone to the race, but I was so psyched about the possibility of winning that I couldn't let it go.

To view the results, visit (2005 Tupper Lake Sprint Triathlon).

UPDATE 9/19/05

2 sucessful weeks in a row. Last week I entered the Highlander Time Trial and bike tour. Both were new events for me. The TT was Friday night. A "quick and easy" 5 mile TT up Gannett hill. Only 1100 ft of climbing over the 5 miles with 900 ft. coming in the last 2 miles up Gannett. I finished 21/69 which I was more than happy with for my first TT. Saturday morning was the Highlander tour. My friend Ron and myself decided to do the metric century Midlander. A nice 65 mile ride through the hills around Bristol. A mere 6000 ft of climbing over the 65 miles. We were in the saddle for 4:10. The quads were a bit tired after we finished, but a good time was had by all.

On Saturday I did the inaugural Rochester Marathon as part of a relay team. The team "Must Beat Becky" consisted of Mark Monnachino, Dennis Stearns, Ron Lillis and myself. Our goal in jest was to beat Becky Kaatz who was doing the whole marathon solo. We all ran well and finished the race in 3:00:39 and beat Becky by 20 minutes. A great time was had by all. Personally, I did the short segment at 5.5 miles. My first running race since the Achilles injury. I managed to push out a 6:22 pace with no ill effect. A bit more time and I should be back to my old pace.

UPDATE 11/07/05

I did my first trail race on Saturday, the Mendon Trail Race. There are 4 races, 5k, 10k, 20k and 50k. I did the 10k. It was a beautiful day and I felt well and as luck would have it, I won the 10k race. Running the trails was a blast. I think I'll be looking for additional trail races in the future.

UPDATE 11/28/05

Another year has passed and another Turkey Trot has been run. This year I opted for the 5k rather than the 10k. Mel, Mike and Ashley along with my brother Bob and nephew Chris were planning on doing the 5k. It didn't quite work out as planned. Mel is nursing some heel spurs and an achilles injury, and Chris is injured also. The day was cold and snowy, but I was excited about the run. I was hoping for my first sub-18 5k, and as luck would have it, the legs cooperated and I finished in 17:53. I was second in my age group (lost by 11 seconds), the second masters runner, and 46'th overall.

UPDATE 2/13/06

It's been a long time since I've updated this. Let's see, I did the Frozen Assets Snowshoe race in early January. My first attempt at snowshoe racing. Wow is all I can say. I thought I was going to blow a gasket my heart was pumping so hard. I'm looking forward to more of these events.

The Freezeroo series is rolling along. I've run in all 5 races so far and have been pleased with the results so far. At this point I'm leading my age group and around 5th overall in the standings.

Last weekend I did Cast-A-Shadow 6 hour snowshoe race. Unfortunatly, there wasn't any snow so it became a trail race. My teammates (Mark Monnachino and Frank Quatrone) and I each did 5 loops of a muddy 2.9 mile trail run. Oh, forgot to mention that it was raining for a good chunk of the time, and the last 2 loops are after dark. An awesome experience, although next year I hope there is some snow.

UPDATE 3/13/06

Well, I finished up the Freezeroo series with an age group win and 4th overall in the series.

The new racing season started on Saturday with the Runnin-of-the-Green. I set a new 5 mile PR with my first sub 6 minute 5 miler. If I can remain injury free it looks to be a good summer.

UPDATE 6/28/06

Long time since the last update. It's been a disappointing spring. I had a poor performance in the Spring Duathlon as well as the Pittsford Triathlon. My bike times have been less than stellar. The running aspect of things has been a little bit better with a good result at the Corporate Challenge.

However, things did turn for the better. I returned to the Tupper Lake Sprint Triathlon again this year. As usual, I managed to finish the swim (not much more can be said about my inadequate swimming skills). I was 15'th out of the water. My transition was quick and off on the bike I went. I quickly passed several riders and could see a group of three ahead of me. I would gain some ground on the uphills, but they pulled away on the downhills and flats. At the turnaround I realized that there were actually 4 riders if front of me. Within the next couple of miles I passed two of the leaders. All the way into town, the two remaining leaders kept pulling away from me. As I left T2, a spectator yelled that I was about 1:30 off the lead. At about .5 miles, I spotted to two leaders. At a mile, I passed one of them, and started running with the other. He was running at a pace that wasn't too strenuous, so I decided to run with him. We stuck together for the next 3.5 miles. I decided at that point it was time attempt to pull away and drop him. Without too much effort, I kicked up the pace a little and pulled ahead. What a thrill it was to cross the finish line first.

Date

Race

Distance

Time

Pace

Place

Place/Age

11/28/02

Troy Turkey Trot

10k

48:53:00

07:52:00

245/550

44/74

03/15/03

Runnin' of the Green

5 mi

34:11:00

06:52:00

173/1179

29/142

05/18/03

Lilac 10k

10k

42:01:00

06:45:00

99/1220

21/130

06/28/03

Tupper Lake Sprint Triathlon

6.5 mi

45:05:00

06:57:00



07/26/03

10 Ugly Men

5k

19:26:00

06:15:00

60/494

4/36

09/07/03

Katie Harper Memorial

5k

20:55:00

06:43:00

28/195


11/23/03

YMCA Turkey Classic

5 mi

33:34:00

06:43:00

42/401

9/41

11/27/03

Troy Turkey Trot

10k

40:35:00

06:33:00

62/663

8/78

12/13/03

Freezeroo #1 Honeoye Falls

5k

20:24:00

06:33:00

21/112

4/13

03/13/04

Runnin of the Green

5 mi

32:52:00

06:34:00

84/1027

12/116

04/03/04

Hot Flashes & Little Blue Run

5k

20:44:00

06:40:00

8/112


04/24/04

Parkinsons 5kParkinsons 5k

5k

19:44:00

06:20:00

10/150

5/29

05/23/04

Lilac 10k

10k

39:44:00

06:23:00

50/1021

9/109

05/27/04

Chase Corporate Challenge

3.5 mi

21:37:00

06:11:00



06/06/04

Pittsford Triathlon

3.1 mi

22:09:00

07:09:00



06/26/04

Tupper Lake Sprint Triathlon

6.2 mi

41:57:00

06:45:00



07/18/04

Jungle Jog 5k

5k

18:28:00

05:57:00

31/546

4/46

07/24/04

10 Ugly Men

5k

18:15:00

05:53:00

36/519

4/45

08/22/04

Sodus Point Sprint Triathlon

3 mi

19:10:00

06:23:00



08/28/04

Greece Police Athletic League

5k

18:35:00

06:00:00

7/261

1/?

09/19/04

Finger Lakes Sprint Triathlon

3 mi

17:57:00

05:59:00



10/02/04

Barktoberfest 10k

10k

39:42:00

06:23:00

7/149

4/18

10/09/04

Scarecrow Safe Journey 5k

5k

18:12:00

05:52:00

3/190

2/21

10/30/04

Run Like Hell

5k

18:43:00

06:01:00

17/508

5/60

11/21/04

YMCA Turkey Classic

5 mi

29:59:00

06:00:00

7/325

1/29

11/25/04

Troy Turkey Trot

10k

37:13:00

06:00:00

28/586

4/70

12/11/04

Freezeroo #1 Ogden 10k

10k

39:36:00

06:22:00

8/177

2/22

01/01/05

Freezeroo #2 Mendon

7.5 mi

48:03:00

06:24:00

12/315

5/44

01/15/05

Freezeroo #3

5k

19:02:00

06:07:00

14/264

4/30

01/29/05

Freezeroo #4 - Powder Mills

6.385 mi

42:14:00

06:37:00

4/177

1/19

02/12/05

Freezeroo #5 - Greece

8 mi

52:25:00

06:33:00

6/150

2/12

03/12/05

Runnin of the Green

5 mi

31:29:00

06:18:00

45/776

10/94

04/03/05

Spring Forward Distance Run

15k

01:05:58

07:05:00

12/119

2/14

05/01/05

Mountain Goat 10 mile

10 mi

01:04:36

06:28:00

64/1208

10/143

05/21/05

Spring Classic F1 Duathlon




8/93

2/15

06/02/05

Chase Corporate Challenge

3.5 mi

20:21:00

05:49:00



06/06/05

Pittsford Triathlon

3.1 mi

21:16:00


1/159


06/25/05

Tupper Lake Sprint Triathlon

6.2 mi

42:54:00


2/88


09/17/05

Rochester Marathon Relay Team - Must Beat Becky

5.5 mi


06:22:00

1/?


10/02/05

Autumn Classic F1 Duathlon




11/60

1/6

10/08/05

Scarecrow Safe Journey

5k

18:14

05:53:00

5/217

1/19

11/05/05

Mendon Trail Run

10k

43:22


1/75

1/18

11/19/05

National Cross Country Masters

10k

39:05:00

06:17:00



11/24/05

Troy Turkey Trot

5k

17:53

05:46:00

46/2181

2/139

12/10/05

Freezeroo #1

10k

38:25:00

06:10:00

6/200

1/24

01/01/06

Freezeroo #2

7.5 mi

47:23

06:19:00

13/294

3/41

01/07/06

Frozen Assets Snowshoe

5k

24:26


18/49

8/15

01/14/06

Freezeroo #3

5k

19:06


10/205

2/27

01/28/06

Freezeroo #4

6.385 mi

40:08

06:17:00

8/231

3/23

02/04/06

Cast A Shadow Team Fleet Feet Racing 2

14.5 mi





02/11/06

Freezeroo #5

8 mi

49:42

06:12:00

8/173

3/21

02/25/06

Freezeroo #6

10k

39:37

06:22:00

12/170

1/14

03/11/06

Runnin of the Green

5 mi

29:41

05:56:00

27/957

4/107

03/18/06


5k

19:08

06:10:00

14/301

1/15

04/02/06

Spring Forward Distance Run

15k

59:20

06:23:00

10/281

2/34

04/29/06

Run for Health

5k

18:24

05:56:00

6/257

1/17

05/20/06

Spring Classic F1 Duathlon




11/96

2/12

06/01/06

Chase Corporate Challenge

3.5 mi

20:25

05:50:00



06/04/06

Pitts






06/11/06

Paul Bellanca 5 Mile

5mi

30:01

06:00:00

10/117

1/8

06/24/06

Tupper Lake Sprint Triathlon




1/126


07/04/06

Firecracker 5 mile

5mi

30:49

06:10:00

23/512

3/52