The Moose is Loose!! Mooseman Race Report
In only it’s third year the Mooseman Triathlon Festival has come into it’s own with all the makings of a world class event. Endurofun puts on this great event and much like that of their more widely known Timberman Triathlon Festival, Mooseman is a top notch triathlon event. The atmosphere at this event is for the most part pretty relaxed and friendly, as it is primarily a local race and, for the mostly New England based triathletes, the first race of the season. Mooseman has particular importance to me because it was my first ½ Ironman in 2005 shortly after I began racing triathlon.
The day began with an overcast sky and low lying clouds which obscured most of the pristine landscape surround New Found Lake in Bristol, NH. However, the rain stayed away from most of the morning and the air temperature hovered in the mid 60’s to 70 all day making ideal race conditions. I began my day meeting and talking with several athletes in transition and around the race site. I always enjoy showing up very early so there is plenty of time to relax and take care of any problems that arise. After a short splash in the water I was ready to face the day.
New Found Lake was around the low 60s, a great temperature as long as you had a wetsuit. The perfectly flat, cool water made for a fast course. With the help of my new Blue Seventy Helix and goggles, I achieved a swim PR, exiting the water in the lead pack chasing Nicholas Dufresne with a blazing 23:16 swim.
A quick T1 and I was on the bike course, which did not have many long sustained climbs, but there were consistent rollers and quite a few difficult spots on the scenic course. It would best be described as a technical and relatively challenging course. I decided to push my Trek TTX pretty hard knowing that I would have to if I wanted to finish well. Shortly into the race Dean Phillips cruised on past and I kept him in my sights for most of the first loop. Completing the first lap having seen only one other cyclists I wasn’t exactly sure where in the field I was, until completing the first loop I was told I was about a minute behind the leader. Although I wanted to see if I could catch him I decided to simply maintain a steady effort and set myself up for a solid run.
By T2 my legs were feeling the effects of the choppy hills on the bike course. I threw on my Brooks Axiom racing flats, Fuel Belt and headed out on the run. “You’re 1:30 behind him!” a few folks yelled as I began to find my stride. I was expecting it to be a long chase and as result I decided to take the first three miles at a slightly conservative pace, but to my surprise at mile two I took the lead. At the first turn around I got a good look at the competition and they looked strong. Tim Snow and Billy Edwards were running especially well only a few minutes behind. I picked up the pace on the way back to the halfway point opening a 2:15 gap over the second runner. Again, I relaxed a little into my pace back to the second turn around; however, at that point Billy Edwards had closed the gap to about 1:30. This made me a little scared and knowing that I had come this far I pushed the pace to cover the last three miles at a 5:47 pace to cross the tape in 4:06.
What an amazing day! I couldn’t have dreamed of a better race. I finished feeling on top of the world, probably due to the adrenaline and all those sets Kurt Perham has me do late in my workouts. I thought that I might have a chance to tie my ½ Ironman PR, but I never dreamed that I would set a new course record and set a new PR by over 8 minutes! There were a lot of athletes out on the course who I knew and it was great to see them along to way, especially Timex’s own Keith Myer racing his first ½ Ironman. Keith Jordan and Endorfun again put on a top notch race that did not disappoint, I can’t wait until next year.
