Okay fellow Tribe mates, here’s my first Race Report of the 2008 season – The Kinetic Sprint 2008. This is through Setup Events (www.setupevents.com) and the race took place at Lake Anna State Park, VA, just southwest of Fredericksburg. The distances were 750 meter open water swim, 18 mile bike, and 5K run. A nice feature about this event is that it also starts late around 10AM. So, if you’re looking for a practice event with open water that’s shorter than Olympic, this is a fairly close one to sign up for next year. Now, as you may remember, the week’s weather preceeding this event consisted of sunny skies, nice temperatures, and low humidity. Alas, the weather gods decided enough was enough. So, as I proceeded south around 5:30AM, I was greeted with waves of downpouring rain and even a thundershower. I actually had considered not going due to the weather. While I eventually was glad I went, I was seriously asking myself why I was still going. The answer always came back the same – for the challenge and experience. As long as I didn’t compromise my safety, things would work out. Still, rain means slick conditions on the bike and I experienced one crash a few years back. I really didn’t need another. Anyway, armed with some Sheetz coffee, I proceeded onward.
Upon my arrival, I was grateful that the parking area wasn’t too far from the event sign-in and transition area. I really didn’t want to lug everything in the rain for long distances. After signing in, picking up goody bag, and timing chip, I saw Craig Bouma and found out where he and Mike Matney were parked so I could join them. Mike had done this one last year and convinced me it was a good season opener.Â
Back to the car – pump tires, put on numbers, gather transition bag, wetsuit, put on timing chip. The transition area was a grassy area with metal racks and numbered rows. Found my spot and attempted to lay out my stuff but keeping it relatively dry. This was a vain attempt as nothing was going to stay dry this day. Also, the rain became a big factor for me during both transitions and I’ll get to that a bit later.  After setting up, other timed race preparations went pretty much as I expected. I try to eat about an hour before this and usually just a bar for a sprint event. One last bathroom break and the wetsuit comes on. This was my first event with my new wetsuit and I was very interested to see how I handled in it from start to finish.
At the lake, we were told the water was 65. But, as I headed out for some practice swimming, it sure did feel colder than that. Definitely cold on the face. My hands and feet not so much. Now one thing to take note of is that the cold water can have an effect on you where it can get you dizzy after getting out of the water. The cold water in your ears does this. And this happened to me in the practice swim. So, I was at least aware of this possibility for T1. I think if I do the event next year, I may get a cap that covers my ears. I had earplugs but forgot to put them in. In any case, I felt pretty comfortable in my wetsuit during practice and thought I was ready to take on the swim.
The swim waves were 3 min apart and Mike, Craig, and I had time to wish each other well in our respective competive groups. Mike was ahead of me and Craig was behind me. This was a running beach start, something I hadn’t done before. So I was a little bit anxious but not too much as I had 3 open water race swims under my belt. I lined up outside but out in front. And when the horn went off, I charged into the water and took a couple of dives into the water in the shallows before really starting the swim. The course was triangular shaped, with the base of the triangle out in the water. Orange buoys marked the course and yellow ones marked the two turns. Oh, and the rain had temporarily stopped with a bit of sun rays on the far end of the lake. There was a bit of hope.
But, this was not to be my day of a good swim. First, unlike my pool swims with relatively new googles which had no problems, my right google started to leak. I tried to ignore it but it was really bothersome. Finally turned over and cleared it. Then I broke a cardinal rule of triathlon swimming – I didn’t relax. Instead I found myself breathing with every other stroke rather than every third! One would think this would’ve gotten me really tired and it did seem to later. But what it really did was mess up my direction. I probably swam about 100 meters off course by going way outside and then back to the real course. I sighted enough but kept going left. I did meet a bunch of folks in my wave at one of the turns so I didn’t think I was doing that bad. And I was able to draft a couple of places. But, without good form, I was really doing myself in as far as time went. Since I know I’m slow, I estimated 16 min for the swim. My time was 17:10.Â
Problems continued out of the water going to T1. First, I couldn’t pull my wetsuit zipper down. I can’t wait to see what the picture of me coming up out of the water looked like. Here I am desperately trying every which way to pull that thing down with the camera person taking pictures. Imagine trying to scratch something in the middle of your back you just can’t reach. That’s how I looked! Fortunately, a person behind realized I was having difficulty and got the zipper loose. I thanked him to no end as I jogged to try and find my stuff in transition. Mike Matney later said that I shouldn’t undue the velcro before pulling as the zipper clasp can get stuck upright and the zipper won’t pull down then. I’ll have to practice that.
Now, something I haven’t forgotten in the past and won’t in the future, is to remember which row you’re in! I ran up one aisle not finding my stuff, went another way, and doubled back before finding which row I was in. I usually practice a bit coming in from the swim and counting the bike rack rows so I know where to turn. Lesson learned for all future events.
Next T1 problem – couldn’t get my cycling shoes on! Since everything was wet, things kinda stuck and collapsed inward. So it took me several tries before finally getting them on. Plus, remember the dizziness coming out of the water during practice? Well, it was there as well. Fortunately that didn’t last long. Now, since it was only around 60 and of course the rain had started up in earnest again, I did take a bit of time putting on a windbreaker, something I don’t regret doing as it kept me warm on the bike. And since everyone was tromping in and out of the bike in/out area, the ground had gotten quite muddy. On top of this, I couldn’t completely see as my visor was quite spotted with raindrops. T1 time- a slow 4:19. Boy, do I need the transition clinic!
Now, the bike course was 18 miles and took us out though the park road in a big loop west of the park before coming back on the same park road to the transition area. Despite the very wet conditions and my helmet visor, I felt very strong on the bike and flew past many people. One person caught me but I passed him again not too long after that and didn’t see him again I think until transition.  Like I said, the roads were very wet with rain still coming down. But I was charging the entire time except taking it very easy on the turns, which there were only 3. The course was rolling and I only remembered one hill where I had to go into my smaller chainring. I was glad I wore the windbreaker as my legs at first were chilled and I imagine my upper body would’ve been much of the ride since it wasn’t doing as much work. I was so focused that I wasn’t looking at my bike computer too much. One person asked me as I passed him what mile we were on. I answered “I don’t know” and he laughed at that. Other folks saw that I was really moving and encouraged me to continue with my pace, which I did. Again, remember when you’re out there to pass and move back over to the right. I had to tell a few folks that I was moving on their left so they wouldn’t run into me. I also remember chasing down a few guys where they were maintaining pace with me up ahead and then during their pauses and/or on slight downhills, I charged ahead and passed. What a feeling! Bike time - 52:50 (avg 20.44 mph)
Coming into T2, the mud had gotten worse entering transition and I was afraid of slipping. Now, the same problem with shoes plagued me again in T2. Couldn’t get my running shoes on. Very frustrating. But, finally got it together, took a deep breath to relax, and headed on the 5K course. T2 time – 3:28
The 5K course took us through the park. Unfortunately, our first challenge was a hill, not something you want after coming off the bike. But, I took it okay. I tried to chase a gal in front of me a bit but she was setting a higher pace and I let her go so I could settle into mine. Interestingly enough, as the rain picked up, so did my pace and I was passing several groups of people. When my level of intensity didn’t fade, I knew I could keep this up the entire distance. The rain I think actually helped as it cooled me down. I took one water but this was a mistake as I really didn’t need it. Only paused for a sec with one gulp. During the last mile, the rain was pouring down. One guy I passed said, “I thought there was only 1 swim leg”.  Yeah, it sure did seem like we were swimming through the rain here. The last 1/4 mile was through a fairly steep paved walkway downhill to the finish and I saw a torrent of water flowing across it here and there. All I could think of was “Don’t slip, don’t slip, don’t slip!” I still passed a few people during this time though. A few zig zags along a walkway and sprinted to the finish. Run time 23:01 (7:24 pace).
There were thermal blankets, pasta, biscuits, water, and diet soda awaiting us at the finish. Even in the pouring rain, it was a terrific feeling to have finished in good form. Packed up, took everything to the car (in plastic bags as everything was soaked), got my dry clothes, and headed to the changing room. There were showers there but I had enough water for the day, thank you.
Overall, I think the race folks did a good job despite the rain. I couldn’t even imagine being a volunteer in this as it was chilly if you weren’t moving around like us. Can’t thank them enough.Â
The only thing I can think of that I would suggest to the race folks is to put down some mats in the muddier parts of transition if they have similar conditions in future years. But, I would recommend participating in this event to others, especially for a short open water practice swim for longer events later in the season.
My other stats:
Overall time: 1:40:15
14th out of 40 in my age group (M 45-49)
162 out of 364 male finishers
Overall results for Mike and Craig
Craig
1:38:05
1st in Masters Cyldesdales (Yea Craig!!)
130th male finisher
Mike
1:31:21
10th out of 61 in Age Group (M 35-39)
67th male finisher
NEXT EVENT – EAGLEMAN Half Iron June 8th. First Half IM attempt. Goal is to finish.
