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August 1, 2008
by Roberta Lasky
The “Ole Boys” of New Castle, whose team name makes fun of their ages, competed in this summer’s Ninth Annual Ford Ironman USA in Lake Placid. Rob Keisel, Scott Powell, Chris Schultheiss, Charlie Spada and Lee Spiegel all finished in the top half of the 2200 participants. Indeed, Kiesel, Powell and Schultheiss finished in the top 90th percentile.
The New Castle Ironmen battled the weather as well as the competition on their 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and 26.2 mile run. “The Ironman [competition] is really tough on a nice day. The fact that is was raining pretty much the whole day made it mentally challenging because the road conditions made the bike section slick,” explained 41-year-old Schultheiss.
“There is a six mile downhill section on the course which enables you to pick up speed, Schultheiss recalled. “Last year I hit 54 miles per hour on it. This year I was only able to hit 44 [miles per hour]. Although the rain was the primary cause for the reduction in my speed, overall bike times seemed equally as fast as last year when it was a beautiful day. Now sure why. Maybe the cooler temperature had something to do with this.”
Slogging thorough the marathon portion
“Running a marathon soaking wet is no day at the beach,” Schultheiss stated with authority after this year’s experience. “Usually you start out dry and then get sweaty, but no such luck here. Basically, get dressed for a marathon, jump in a swimming pool with your clothes on and then run 26.2 miles. My shoes weighed a ton. The constant rain took the fun factor out of the race and made it feel like a death march versus a sporting event. Fewer fans as well. I will say, the volunteers were outstanding, which made a huge difference.”
The ultimate objective of the Lake Placid competition was to win a qualifying spot to participate in the Ironman competition in Hawaii. Although none of the five men met that goal, which was disappointing, one of them came quite close. “Scott finished eleventh in his age group, 44-49, and missed a qualifying spot by two places, or time-wise, less than three minutes or so,” reported Schultheiss. Keisel finished in the low 20s in his age group, 40-44, while Schultheiss finished 42nd out of the 398 competitors in the same age group.
Training together helps motivation
Training for the Ironman competition is a year-round activity. The “Ole Boys” trained for seven to ten hours a week during their off-season, and upped that to 20 hours per week as the competition loomed. “I swim at Club Fit twice a week,” explained Schultheiss. “I ride my bike around Westchester and in the spring and summer we frequently ride to Bear Mountain and back, 62 miles round trip. We run on the streets of New Castle and in Rockefeller Park, but we really don’t swim outdoors.”
The advantages of training together are several. “Training as a group keeps you disciplined,” stated Kiesel. “Training as a group allows everyone to train with someone who is better than they are in one sport. It’s always better to train with someone better or faster than you, as it pushes you to improve.”
The downside to group training, not surprising, is heightened competition. “The only disadvantage I find to training together,” Schultheiss acknowledged, “is that group training can result in faster, harder workouts, which can lead to overtraining or burnout. We mix it up a bit to avoid this.”
But they couldn’t do it without their family’s support. “We are fortunate that we have wives and children who support and encourage us to train,” said Kiesel. “I like the fact that my children get excited about it and want to compete in ‘Tri’s’ as well.”
Kiesel has some advice for the beginning Ironman. “Start your training gradually until you have a good aerobic base, then increase the intensity. Read about different training techniques and programs. If you aren’t competing, then at least go to the races. It’s an adrenaline rush regardless. Become involved with other triathletes and train together. Most of all, enjoy the sport.”
Bike ride
The run
Swimmers fill the water
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