April Update – New Start Time & Cycling Training Guide

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April Update – New Start Time & Cycling Training Guide

 

 


April News Update

Ride, Baby, Ride!

Leg 5 Bike Training Guide

Plus 2017 Race Start Time Change

 

We’re just over 3 months to the start of the 3rd edition of Race the State and now with the warmer weather, it’s a perfect time to start your bike training. We caught up with Terry Halpin, who has been on the winning relay teams in both 2015 and 2016, to chat about the course and provide you with some race day and prep tips. In addition to being on the winning teams, Terry owns the fastest time at 1 hour 10 minutes and 33 seconds on the bike leg, that’s an average of 23mph!


Also, due to the Newport Jazz Fest, we are making a change to the race start time from 6am to 5:30am. This timing change will help minimize our impact with Jazz Fest traffic at Fort Adams and on the water. Please take note of how this will affect timing for the rest of the course, which can be viewed HERE.

And finally, we had a great time promoting Race the State at the first annual Newport Rhode Race last weekend! We raffled off an entry to Race the State to competitors and are pleased to announce that Valerie Pratt is the winner! Congrats, Valerie, see you on the course!

Sponsor Spotlight
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Cycling Training Guide

Tips for crushing the bike leg of Race the State from Terry Halpin, bike course record holder at 1 hr 10 min 33 sec!

What do you think of the course?
The bike course is good; it has quite a bit of terrain to it – 900ft of elevation, I think. The hardest part about it is not to go too hard on the first hill.  Once you cross Post Road (aka Route 1), it’s pretty much “game on” all the way to the finish.It’s a beautifully scenic, rural course…going by the lake is especially nice. It’s a rolling hills course, which, for me, is pretty good. Maybe some people don’t enjoy that as much as I do. You have to maintain a pretty steady power output, and keep going along.The roads are in good condition mostly, [it’s] a little rough going over Chase Hill Road so you need to be mindful of that because you’re going quite quick going down the hill. But all in all it’s a very nice, scenic race.

Anything on the course competitors should be aware of?

If you do a reconnaissance mission on  the course, some of the hard turns become part of your memory and you’re able to anticipate them instead of being surprised. Generally speaking, the traffic was quite light, and I didn’t have any problems with that.

How do you prepare for the race?

The two years I’ve done it, I managed to recon the course a couple of times each year. I feel like its very important to know where the turns are and where you can accelerate and make the most of your available energy before you try to accelerate too quickly in an area where you’re going to have to slow down or turn. I can’t say enough how important it is to recon.

The ride is only 29 miles, so for my recon I went out and back from the URI Bay Campus. It’s pretty critical, [the recon] will show you the steepness of the first hill, and force you to figure out how to manage your time going up that—it’s not where you’re going to win the race, but you can certainly lose it there.

How many miles are you riding a week?
150-180 miles a week, mostly by myself. 2-3 days I’ll ride with a group, but mostly by myself.Any advice for first timers?The best thing you can do is try to find an aerodynamic position on the bike that you’re comfortable in. I rode a standard road bike, but made adjustments to the position and added a set of aero bars for a bit of aerodynamic performance and it seemed to work well for me.

Anything you do to keep yourself motivated during long rides?

Dream of what might have been… No, just kidding.

For the race, it’s important to prepare for conditions of the day, as not being prepared will affect your motivation. If it’s dry and hot, bring enough water. I’d probably something to eat, maybe, 2/3 a way during the leg. I don’t, personally, have issues staying motivated for 30 miles, that’s less than a standard day on the bike, for me!

Any suggestions for someone who doesn’t have enough time to do many long rides during a week?

Anything that gets you time in the saddle. If you can increase your endurance, that is probably the best method of training. One is interval training, high intensity for short bursts, both increasing the intensity and lengths of the bursts over the course of a long period of time so your body because more in tune to running at threshold. Try and ride the mileage. If you can ride 2 hours on a stationary bike, if the weather’s not good, or you don’t have enough time to get outside when it’s light, that should get you through.

And last but not least, enjoy it, have fun!

Additional Training Tips

Offseason
If you’re in the Newport area, Pulse has the best spin classes around! Pulse will be entering five teams to Race the State 2017, so keep an eye out for them on the course!

Know the Route
The bike leg of Race the State takes competitors from South Kingstown to Westerly along back roads. The course is as straight as possible without having competitors go on busy traffic congested streets. There will be arrow signs on the course marking the way but it will pay to study the map beforehand to really know the route. 

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Crossing Route 1 5.5 miles into the bike course, competitors must cross Route 1. Because the safety of our competitors is of the utmost importance, timing chips are setup on either side of the rode to pause timing to allow for a safe crossing. Police detail will also be present to stop traffic.

Other Upcoming Events

April 30 – Kayak/SUP – Run of the Charles, Boston MAMay 6 – Run –  Providence Marathon and Half Marathon, Providence, RIMay 13 – Bike – Rhode Kill Spring Classic, West Warwick, RIMay 20 – Multi Sport – Mystic River Herring Run and Paddle, Mystic, CT

June 4 – Run – Newport 10 Miler, Newport, RI

Register for Race the State Today!

2017 Race the State Sponsors and Partners

Interested in becoming a sponsor for 2017? E-mail us for more information!

SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT RACE THE STATE!

Help us to grow the race for its third edition in 2017!
Refer a friend and get $15 if they sign up as an individual and $10 if they sign up for a team! You can earn up to the full amount of your entry fee!Here’s how it works:1. Register for Race the State HERE
2. Collect your referral code
3. Give code to your friends and tell them to register
4. You get a refund!

 


Race the State will return in 2019

Race the State

Race the State