Hey Cliff,

I wanted to update you on how the Marathon went, also I wanted to thank you for all your great advice. I definitely took your advice and it certainly paid off. I ran a local half marathon in Norwalk in September and did most of my runs on trails and treadmills.

Despite an IT Band problem that came about 2 weeks before the NYC Marathon, the whole experience was awesome, both running the marathon and all the training leading up to it was exciting and gratifying! I'm definitely hooked and plan on running more marathons.

Here are my times:

Finish time: 3:26:11
10K split: 0:46:57
Half-marathon split: 1:39:10

Hope all is well! Good luck in your next race!

Thanks again Cliff!

Best,

Ryan

Dear Friends and supporters of Cherry Trees,

                                      

There are many words that could describe my feelings and emotions on Saturday evening after I crossed the finish line – exhausted, exhilarated, relieved, happy…a combination of all of these things I suppose! My only real ‘personal’ goal when embarking on this venture back in May was to cross the finish line in one piece, but of course on race day it is hard not to let your competitive edge take over to some degree. The swim and the bike were probably the strongest events for me, and the run – well that was really just a case of hanging on. Out of a total of 260 competitors I finished the race in 75th place overall, in a total time of 12hrs 11 minutes and 46 seconds, and my split times (for those who are interested!) were 1hr 15 mins for the 2.4 mile swim, 6hrs 10 mins for the 112 mile bike, and 4hrs 27 mins for the 26.2 mile run. The Peruvian winner finished in a staggering time of 9 hours and 19 minutes (a 3hr 7 min marathon!!!!!).

More importantly than any of the above, I wanted to let you know that it is not too late to make a donation to Cherry Trees!! Below is the link to my donation webpage, which takes all major credit cards other than Amex I believe. Alternatively you can always send me a check if you have a Sterling account to 440 West 24th Street, Appt 3a, New York, NY 10011 made payable to Cherry Trees (not to me!).

http://www.justgiving.com/peterbrown28

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who has already donated so generously. If you take a quick look at my donations page above you will see how incredibly kind everyone has been. I spoke with the fundraising office at Cherry Trees today – they are, quite simply, blown away by how much money has been raised by you all. It is a very small charity but with a large donation like this they are now going to be able to make huge steps forward in the new building work that they have planned.

Finally a big thank you to my loyal support team who came to Florida with me and shouted, screamed, waved banners…you name it…it would have been impossible without you there. Also a big thank you to all my friends and Family in New York, London, Florida and elsewhere for your kind words of support and for all your encouragement over the last few weeks and months – and to my coach Cliff Scherb, who does this crazy sport for a living and is the fittest, most motivated man I have ever met!!

That’s it from me – THANK YOU ALL AGAIN!!!!!!!!!

Peter

 

Race Report

Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island

Date:  7/13/08

FOREWARD

To my family, friends, and fellow tri-ers:

Rhode Island is successfully in the bag!  What an amazing day – a time of 5:31 and a top third finish in my first 70.3 mile event. 

Before diving into the nitty-gritty details, I want to make two brief acknowledgements: 

1.  A BIG THANK YOU. 

To my family for being a part of this amazing day.  Your support on race day provided a mental edge that is impossible to describe or appreciate.  But, more important than this, it just makes the ...<< MORE >>

Mighty Man Sprint, Montauk 10/4/08
 
Swim .5 miles:  It was really cold Saturday at the start, about 50 degrees. The swim was in a pond, an easy course, but I was worried about the cold.  The gun went off and I counted to 15 to let the heat thin out.  Then I was swimming easy and passing people.  I wasn't thinking about my stroke much, I was just dealing with the people I was swimming past.  Once we rounded the last buoy to head back to the beach, I was thinking, well you're swimming kind of easy, so you're not going to do your best time.  Then the guys from the heat after me started passing me, so I tried to get in one guy's draft and let him pull me in to the beach.  It worked for a while.  I thought a hard swim would net me an 18 minute time and an easy swim would be 20 minutes.  So when I got out and saw I was at 16:25, I almost fell over.  It had been an effortless swim!
 
T1:  We shouldn't talk about this.  I was there so long, I could have or dered out for a frappachino.  But I didn't have an over all goal time.  This race I wanted to take time in transition to catch my breath and regroup in between events.
 
The bike was a 10 mile piece of cake.  There was a 1 mile long climb that didn't feel too bad.  I'm a little bummed because my time exactly matched my NYC pace.  But the up side is that it felt like I was holding back, not giving it everything.  I'm still unsure what I can do on the bike and still have gas in the tank for the run, so I was conservative.  But really, really pleased w/ my HR.
 
T2: Had a mani/pedi, chatted on the phone  
 
Run 5K:  Set out on feet that felt like ice blocks.  I honestly couldn't feel them hit the ground.  My goal was to match my Nike 10K time, or do slightly better.  The first mile was mostly up hill and once the legs thawed, they burned a lot!  Stopped at mile 1 for water and a quick stretch.  I looked at my watch and thought, I can make my time goal, but it's going to hurt.  But then I settled into a pace and started feeling really good. My HR was stil l sub LT and I felt amazing.  I start cooking along and chatting with people I PASS.  Waved to Steve Tarpinian and thanked him for camp this summer.  I didn't feel like I was working AT ALL.  I couldn't believe what my watch was telling me...that I was going to come in 5 minutes faster then I had any hope of finishing.  It was the fastest 5K I'd ever run...ever.
 
I just had no idea I was capable of doing those swim/run times outside of an LT test.  It's not just the times, it's that they were not a gut wrenching effort.  This time last year I wasn't just resistant to the HR training; I was openly hostile to the idea.  Consider me convinced! 

 

Central Park Biathlon – Sunday October 5, 2008

                         

After the Eagleman in June I had a summer of ups and downs.  An unfortunate cycling accident on the streets of NYC sidelined me for a few weeks and caused me to miss a favorite sprint distance race on the Jersey shore.  Luckily I recovered to successfully take on a 170 mile backpacking trip through California’s High Sierras in late August / early September.  Coming back from two weeks of steady state efforts at altitude I was excited to get back on the bike and squeeze in one last race before officially hibernating for the winter.

When planning the weekend’s festivities on Friday I was torn between racing the Chain-Stretcher mountain bike race in Peekskill (would have been my first) or NYTC’s Central Park Biathlon (I’m a fan of their spring event).  After sustaining multiple cuts and bruises on my pre-ride of the Chain-Stretcher course on Saturday I decided my body may not be able to handle two consecutive days on the trail.  Luckily GWB traffic cooperated with me and I was able to reach Central Park to register for the Biathlon by the 6pm cutoff.  After a quick dinner I was off to bed dreaming about the beautiful fall weather.

Unfortunately the weather man got it all wrong.  Sunday morning brought hard rain and cool temps (low 50s).  20 minutes before the start the transition area was a river clogged with gear and shivering athletes.  Off the start it felt good to get moving and I tried to keep the fastest guys in sight.  Although nowhere near as fast as the leaders I was able to keep a consistent pace and was excited to see that my bike hadn’t washed away from the transition area.

Fortunately the first lap of the bike course wasn’t crowded and I was able to go at my own pace and safely negotiate my way through the rainstorm.  The second lap became sketchy as the slick roads were packed with competitors.  At this point my legs began to burn but with only a few minutes to go I kept the effort strong.  Overall the bike was lonely as I wasn’t really passed or passing many people.  I thought I had a good position but wasn’t entirely sure where I stood.  Either way I needed to pull out a solid performance on the run to end my season on a high note.

After a slow transition I began the run.  It felt great to race again after my long hiatus.  I began to focus on people one at a time and slowly work my way up through the pack.  By the last half mile of the run everyone was pretty spread out and I realized my place was set.  I enjoyed the last stretch down Cat’s Paw hill and cruised through the finish.  The hardest part of the day may have been waiting for the award ceremony soaking wet in 50 degree temps.  After almost cracking during the never-ending raffle and running home my patience was rewarded when I found out I earned 2nd place in the 25-29 age group (19th overall) with a time of 1:07.  It was the perfect ending to a great season – now it’s time to rest before ’09 and Ironman Lake Placid!

I guess I’ve been reluctant to (finally) write the race recap for my Ironman in Lake Placid, New York, because that would mean the event is actually over. After a year of anticipation and roughly six months of dedicated training (and one dislocated tailbone in the process), the goal is now behind me. It’s back to reality….and also time to set new goals! By way of introduction, though, I should confess that doing an Ironman-distance triathlon was never a notch I particularly cared to carve in my belt of life’s achievements. It looked too intense, too difficult, too time consuming, and too competitive. I also found it hard to imagine myself being fit or strong enough to be able to complete this mountainous course! From August 2007 to February 2008 (i.e., the months preceding training), whenever I was reminded that I had signed up for Ironman Lake Placid, I put it to the back of my mind and tried not to think about it. But as time passed, and my training got underway, my acceptance and anticipation of an impending race date set in. I had identified three goals for my first Ironman: << MORE >>

                                                             

I’d heard about what a great race the Timberman Half is and I’d have to agree. They do a really good job organizing this race. And it’s in New Hampshire so it’s just beautiful.

I was really looking forward to this race as my training has really been coming along. I did have one slight problem race week and that was my job. It involved an all-nighter on Wednesday in preparation for a new business pitch and a last minute business trip to Chicago on Friday, which got me into New Hampshire at 3 AM on Saturday morning.  But that is the life of an age grouper. 

And then the race unfolded kinda like this.

It started with a solid 30 minute swim, although truth be told I was shooting for 28 or maybe a hair faster. And the bike wasn’t bad either. I’d been getting some good mileage in and some intense rides, too. The run was the tough part, as it usually is.

The run is set-up like many races. It’s a two loop out and back course with some rollers thrown in there. It’s great to keep an eye on anyone sneaking up on you. And to see who’s in front of you. Based on my training I was shooting to run 7 min miles for the run. For some reason, I just couldn’t get my splits much under 7:30. I didn’t crumble. And I didn’t take it too easy only to start running 6:30’s for the last 3 miles, but I just didn’t have the run I wanted.

Which is why a couple days later I signed up for the Toughman Half, a new half IM distance race in Westchester. That’s the great thing about racing. There really are no finish line. There’s just that place with the big digial clock where they take your picture and your chip off and feed you some food, so you can start training for the next race.

 

This is my first race report so a quick background might be in order.  A friend of mine Joel, in July of 2006, told me that it was really difficult to get into the Ironman Lake Placid race as it gets sold out right away.  I took it as a challenge and got up early in the morning on July 24, 2006 and was lucky enough to signup for it.   I didn’t have a background in triathlons.  I didn’t even know what they were.  After signing up for the race I went for my first outdoor run (I used to run on a treadmill).  I bought my first bike in August of 2006.  Joel took be on a hill and showed me how to use my gears.  On September 19 2006 I participated in my first triathlon. It was the Mighty Hampton.  Two weeks latter I participated in my second tri, which was a half-ironman distance race, the Epic and rainy mighty Montauk of 2006.   After this race Cliff took over and started coaching me.  My goal was to finish my first Ironman distance race and get the medal.  I finished my first IM LP in 12:13:31. 

Lake Placid race day: Small rain, big rain, thick rain, sideways rain. 

It was still dark when I woke up at 4:30 AM on Sunday July 20, 2008.  I woke up Cliff even though I was trying to be as quiet as possible .  He was amazing enough to be there for me and the other tristar athletes.  I ate my two cliff bars.  I wanted to eat the beef Jerky sitting on the side table but I remembered the wise words of Cliff, “no food with fiber before the race”.  That sucks I told myself – anyway – went to the rest room (very important), stretched (equally important), and got ready for the race.  I don’t know why but I was in an amazingly happy mood this morning.  I wasn’t scared or tensed about the race, which is very unusual.  I kept on telling myself that it’s going to be an adventures day.  Dam I couldn’t believe it, I was actually looking forward to the race. 

Well we got to the swim start (Joel, Janine, and me.  Thanks Bobby for driving and Cliff for dropping off the special needs bags). The sky was cloudy and I could feel some rain drops.  Athletes were getting in the water.  I waited until fifteen minutes before the start to get in the water and warm up.  The warm up was nothing more than running into people, after every few strokes, and stopping and turning around and starting again.  Before the start I got myself close to the front and waited for the cannon to go off.  Baaaaaaaaaaaang!  We were off.  Well the first thing I remember is a girl climbing on my back.  I thought, what the hell is going on.  We are seconds into the race and someone is already taking advantage of me.  Good my girlfriend wasn’t there or she might suspect something.  In all seriousness it was a painful swim.  Last year I was hit a few times, during the swim, but this year was the worst.  I think I was raped at least 5 to 6 times (As a lawyer I take these things seriously and I will be pressing charges against these violators).  I was hit on my goggles a couple of times.  Hit on my head and chest more than what I would like to remember.  My goal for the next year is to be the fastest swimmer at the IM (or take a taser gun in the water as a backup).  During the swim I felt I had a lot to give but it was hard to pass people. Most of them were in groups and crowed around the magic yellow line (which I was also trying to follow).  Came out of the water with a lot of energy.  Had a cramp in my left calf (when a volunteer was yanking off my wetsuit).  This is the second year I had a cramp after the swim, but this year I know why.  While getting my suit taken off I point my toes too much, which overstretches my calf.

Bike ride was fun.  I loved the weather.  It was nice and rainy.  The Keene Valley down hill was probably the scariest thing I have done in a while (well not as scary as when I went off the cliff in Lake Tahoe while skiing).  I have hit 54 MPH on this downhill but with today’s wet conditions I was taking it a bit slower – 47 MPH.  I nearly crashed twice but I guess someone up there doesn’t want me yet.  During the second loop of the bike course I was screaming with the spectators.  I lost my voice by the time I got to the run.  But it was a lot of FUN.  Got off the bike with a lot of energy and felt fresh (Thanks cliff again – great training).  I lost my gel flasks and my electrolyte pills during the bike ride but I was able to eat the gels from the aid stations and get my nutrition in.

Run was fun and comfortable (I know I can’t believe it myself).  I ran within my training limits.  Cliff told me to take it easy and that’s what I did.  Ate on the course said hello to other runners and spectators (my throat is still recovering).  Last year I remember having to walk through all the aid stations and the hills.  This year I was able to run the whole course and even pass a few people.  When I got to the oval stadium I sprinted the last 200 meters.  Cliff was on the other side of the line.  The first thing I told him was, I can do more.  AND that is what I hope I can do in the future.  Do more of these amazing races.  Other triathletes have told me that they compete in ironman to push their limits or to test themselves.  For me it’s a daylong adventure where anything can happen.  You can feel good or you can feel crappy.  You can have the fastest and the best race of your life or the slowest and still the best race of your life.  You can meet people who help motivate you or some real a—holes.  But who cares at the end.  YOU.  OR maybe another Ironman.  It’s all about creating a few memories for when we won’t be able to do this anymore (Right?). 

Thanks for putting up with my race report.   Time to recover and look forward to the next adventure. 

At the end of the day I know that I have managed to live more in one day than most people do in a lifetime, honestly Going down a steep hill with tight turns in your underwear – as they described it on the Tour de France – at over 47 MPH with pouring rain.  Whoooow!  Final race time 10:39:51.

Quick thanks to some important people in my life - 

Thanks a loooot Cliff for the incredible coaching.  You coached me amazingly well and most importantly got me to the start line healthy.  Thanks Cliff and Maha for motivating me during the tough training schedule (while I was working full time, attending college full time to complete my LLM, and attending weekly French cooking classes).  Thanks mom for helping me gain 20 1bs this year   Thanks Maha for making sure that I ate healthy and lost those 20 lbs in two months.  Thanks Nadim for pushing me to continue with my Ironman dreams, as I wouldn’t be able to continue without his help.  Thanks to Joel for being a great workout partner. 

PS.  Didn’t need to "relieve" myself while on the bike or while running.  I stopped and took my time to enjoy the scenery and take care of business.  My humble advice respect your bike and shorts

Congratulations John, Chris, and Natalie for running speedy 5K! 


Place R  No. C NAME                       City                 St Ag S FIVEK  Pace
===== = ==== = ========================== ==================== == == = ===== =====
   1. R  235 3 Antonio Blas               NEW YORK             NY 23 M 16:34  5:20
   2. R  194 3 Glen Carnes                                     NY 40 M 17:09  5:32
  3. R 39 3 Jonathan Farnham NEW YORK 30 M 17:15 5:33
   4. R  204 3 Angel Rojas                HAMPTON BAYS            22 M 17:29  5:38
   5. R  234 3 Victor Manue Garcia Garcia                      NY 43 M 18:12  5:52
   6. R  193 3 J.J Kenny                                       NY 35 M 18:13  5:52
   7. R  223 3 Paul Mascali               MANHASSET            NY 56 M 18:36  6:00
   8. R  352 3 Peter Lambert                                   IL 40 M 18:50  6:04
   9. R  502 3 Lee Fredette                                       25 M 18:57  6:06
  10. R  225 3 Bill Reed                  HAMPTON BAYS         NY 38 M 18:59  6:07
  11. R  381 3 Doug Milano                                        24 M 19:07  6:10
  12. R  127 3 Andy Powell                MARCELLUS               35 M 19:08  6:10
  13. R   89 3 Dylan McAllister           QUOGUE                  14 M 19:16  6:12
  14. R  232 3 Laura Brown                WHB                  NY 40 F 19:22  6:14
  15. R   33 3 Charles Edel               REMSENBURG              29 M 19:24  6:15
  16. R  254 3 Jorge Flores               EH                   NY 37 M 19:30  6:17
  17. R 322 3 Chris MiCulis NEW YORK NY 33 M 19:50 6:23
  18. R  282 3 Steven Lutz                MELVILLE                41 M 19:53  6:24
  19. R  241 3 David Sumwalt              WHB                     29 M 20:05  6:28
  20. R  242 3 Lauren Lariola             SHELTER ISLAND       NY 26 F 20:06  6:29

324. R 309 3 Natalie AntoinetteNEW YORK NY 29 F 36:35 11:47

Scott Harrison takes on Musselman Half Iron and the wet conditions to net another top age group performance.  Whilst this was just another "training day" Scott makes it look easy with a big smile.  Scott rode strong and really made a dent in his age group with the sixth fastest run split in his AG.  Way to go Scott!
                

Congratulations Scott!!!