Now my first duathlon was the Richmond Duathlon National Championship early in the season. That event had over a thousand folks there and covered a standard duathlon distances (10K Run, 38K Bike, 5K Run). This was quite a bit less in numbers of people (less than 100) and distances (2 mile run, 14 mile bike, 2 mile run). Club member Michele Trdina invited me to race there as she knew I probably wasn’t going to be doing Brierman and also because she’s likes this du as she’s done it few times now (and won the Women’s Overall BTW). Since it was fairly inexpensive ($25), weather looked good, and it was relatively close, I thought why not? Michelle also told me that there are some great raffle prizes and also for a few dollars more, one could win a brand new mountain bike. Okay, sign me up!

I had hoped to bike the course prior to the race but had to settle with driving it the day prior. And it’s a good thing I did! The first few miles start out rather benign with a couple of stretches of gently up and down sections. Then the course becomes more technical with more turns, some short hills, and some rather winding downhills. There was also one fairly significant climb (well, for me) that gave me pause when I saw it. I then decided to change my back cassette to the 12/27 so the 27 would give me more to work with on this hill. It also looked like I probably wouldn’t get into the 11 as most of the downhills were pretty short and I wouldn’t be able to really crank on that gear. One other note during the last few miles was a sharp left then sharp right turn coming out over railroad tracks as one was coming downhill! Whew! Pretty safely back to the transition in the park after that though it is mostly uphill until you actually make the turn into the park.

Race morning is here and it’s far too early. At least the race doesn’t start until 9. So after breakfast, head out the door into the dark to begin the drive to the race site. It looks clear out and a while later, dawn breaks to a nearly clear sky. Wow! What a spectacular day for a race! Bright sunshine with a little bit of wind and temps in the mid 60s warming to the low 70s. Racing weather doesn’t get much better. A bit more wind on the bike than I wanted but it wouldn’t have made much difference. Get checked in at registration and then go to get my gear moved to transition. No body marking which is a bit different for me. Just so used to it. Michele and her husband, Brian, then arrive and stop by to chat for a bit when I’m getting something else at the car. Now, transition is in one part of the parking lot and it’s open racking, though there were number signs on the racks that didn’t correspond to any of our numbers. A bit confusing at first but not a problem. Unsure how the run course worked also since it wasn’t mentioned in the flyer or online. Found out the two runs took us around the parking lot on the grass which was a bit different. The first loop around we come in from one end of parking lot, get to our bikes, and exit the other. Then the bike in was the same as bike out. And after the second run, we loop the lot again to finish nearly all the way around. In addition, the run course was also a bit challenging as it was a slight uphill, followed by a steady downhill, turn around to come back up that, and then back down in the park to loop around the parking lot. So a fairly fast course. No chip timing though, so no splits.

As I got there pretty early, I decided to warm up by running out to the road before the park and back, plus run anywhere else I’m going to. This is something I’ve been needing to do more of before my tris/events as I think it’s actually limited me a bit. So, adequate warm up here. Then it’s race meeting time and we find out about all the good stuff I mentioned above. The race director (and Michele earlier) mentioned and emphasized an incident last year where a racer had his head down on the bike and ran into a truck in the park (ow!).  So, we had to solumnly swear to be careful and also have fun (snicker).  Then a few more minutes and it’ll be race start time.

This is a mass run out of the park and I start in the middle with Michele. The starter says he’ll basically say ready, set, go (or something like that) in just a few. I start my watch. “Ready….Set….GO! (like I said, or something like that)” And we’re off!! The pack ahead really takes off and my adrenaline is up there too enough for me to want to go faster. So, I think I mumbled something real quick to Michele, like “Bye” and started to pass folks ahead of me so I could get a fast first run in. After just a little bit up the road, the leaders are pretty much up there but there’s a chase pack that I’m also chasing and trying to maintain pace with. As we get onto the main road to start the gradual downhill portion, I can tell this is definitely a quick pace for me and I know it’s going to start getting uncomfortable soon. Just maintain pace and sight of the group is all I think about. Turn around and come back. I don’t remember seeing Michele on the return so she’s either right behind me or else I’m just in my zone a bit too much concentrating on maintaining this pace. And the pace is taking its toll on folks ahead of me too as we’re going back uphill to the park road. Though this is now a bit uncomfortable, I’m able to pick a few folks off before I round the corner and still maintain sight of the chase group ahead of me. Fortunately, the road becomes more downhill now and I use gravity to my advantage coming into the grass part of the course. This isn’t too bad but it’s wet here and there. Also, there was a puddle I almost didn’t avoid in the grass area! That could’ve been nasty! Kept that in mind for the second run. Round the final corner, back onto the pavement and into transition. Interestingly enough, Michele has used me for motivation and kept me in sight after I took off in the beginning (that’s the third person that’s used me for motivation and pacing. I’m actually honored). Her 1st run time was 50 seconds faster than last year! And she said to me that the clock time said 13:35 or 13:39 when she comes in, which she had trouble believing. So…

1st run time estimated at 13:30, 6:45 pace

Transition is a small one so I don’t have any problem getting to my gear. I might have been a bit faster than a few other folks because several people from the chase group are still getting their act together. And I don’t have any problems here getting anything on. It went pretty smoothly and I’m right near the bike exit. No hydration belt still on me like at Richmond (see my earlier race report if you don’t know the story). Leave transition with a few folks from the group I was chasing on the run.

T1 time estimated at 1:02

Just after I started the bike, I put my helmet visor down and couldn’t see. Apparently, I hadn’t cleaned the visor and it was real difficult to see anything. So, though it would take a bit of streamlining away, put the visor up for this race. Something to remember to check. Now, after the fast first run, I’m actually recovering a little bit while getting going on the bike. Fortunately, there’s nothing really technical or significant during the first few miles. Some decent straight stretches to get my act together. A few folks start passing me here and I do a bit of the same. As we get into an uphill stretch, a person passes me and says “Let’s get a move on! (or something to that effect)” It’s Michele! Dang, I was kinda hoping she wouldn’t pass me until later on the bike as I (and many of you) know she’s a strong cyclist and the second run’s too short to make things a race with her. I tried to keep her in sight as long as I can, but I lost sight of her as we started to enter the more technical part of the course. Now during the first part, I had started to trade places with a couple of other guys. I would hammer down the hills only to be passed again up by the two guys. And we still continue to trade places for the next 6 or 7 miles I estimate. In addition, one of the leading women (maybe a relay person, maybe not) has also joined in this group jockeying for position as well. She did the same thing to me on the uphills and looked like she was maintaining with the one guy ahead. Now, when I drove the course, I was a bit unsure of handling things here but armed with that knowledge, I thought I handled this part of the course fairly well especially the turns on the downhills. I found I was able to maintain and even hammer a bit despite a few twists and turns. That seems to be the only thing keeping me with these folks, my ability to pour on the power downhill and take the lead time and time again from the other 3 after I had lost it on another short hill. Down one particular hill, I really poured it on and was again leading for quite sometime until the big hill. Two of the three folks rejoin me as we’re in the middle of climbing. For some reason, we’ve lost the woman that was with us. Didn’t see her again. I also see other folks nearing the top as we’re below. Hmm, maybe a chance to catch more folks? Nah, not with this hill yet to climb. Anyway, the one guy passes me and gets over the top before I do. The other guy also passes me near the top but can’t maintain and I stand to push myself over the top to enjoy the really nice downhill afterwards. I don’t see this guy again on the bike. Now it’s just the one guy with me chasing. And this is really how it stays for the next 3-4 miles. At times I’m catching him and then fall back a bit. Back and forth it goes like that. Then we come down this hill with the two sharp turns and railroad tracks. I take the first one okay but have a little bit too much speed for the second. I put on brakes as much as I dare so it doesn’t lock up and this seems to do the trick. I do think I heard my back tire skid just slightly before the railroad tracks though. And right after that, there’s a pickup and trailer in my way on the right! Yikes! Fortunately, there are volunteers there to direct traffic for us and I get by them. Reset my sights on the guy up ahead. Finally the run course cones comes up and I know we’re near the park. Round the corner to get on the road into the park and it’s downhill. So hammer a bit here to narrow the distance between us. It’s here I get out of my shoes since I’m on the downhill and pedal into transition. That might have been a bit soon, but there was a slight uphill as we’re making the turns into transition and I didn’t want to make the same mistake as I did in Rumpass in Bumpass (getting out of shoes on the uphill, bleeding speed/momentum). Just before the final short turn before transition, the other guy is now getting out of shoes but I’ve already swung my leg over and balancing on one pedal as I make the final turn to transition. I hear a person (maybe a volunteer?) say to me “Look at you! All ready to go!” as I hit the dismount area running to my rack spot!

Bike time – 45:47 (estimate) 18.35 mph avg

In T2 I am blazing! Seriously – bike is racked, helmet off, running shoes on, grab visor, and I’m gone out of transition and into the 2nd run! Yes, Elvis has definitely left the building!! This is so quick I estimate T2 at 30 seconds! And I have left the guy I was trailing on the bike in the process!

Now on the 2nd two mile run and I see other folks who were ahead of me in the 1st run and on the bike. And though my legs haven’t quite come back yet for running, I’m able to pass a few of them. I am moving okay though and start the slight climb up the park road. I’m pretty much alone here as I recall and see a few other runners up ahead as well as maybe the first or second place person coming back. Once out of the park, I see a fair number of folks ahead and now my legs have woken up completely. But, everyone else here is moving pretty much at the same speed or a bit faster than I am, so all I can do is maintain pace now and hold on for the next mile and a half. Coming to the turn around point, I see Michele heading back already and exchange fives as she encourages me to catch her. But, unless I’m able to really put on some speed here, I saw there just wasn’t enough distance. Still, I press and try to keep pace though it’s going to get uncomfortable after the turn around since it’s uphill. Upon turning around, I do see I’m starting to gain on a guy a good distance ahead. So, when I finally reach the top of the hill and enter the park, I use gravity to my advantage to essentially fall down the hill a bit to get a bit more speed. At the grass area, I’m not too far behind this guy and he takes a slightly wrong turn but gets back on course. Still, this is enough for me to close the gap a bit more. However, he hears me behind him and puts on a bit of speed to stay ahead of me just before the final distance to the finish. I cross the finish line 4 sec behind him! A nice volunteer takes my number tag and I stagger a bit over to the food/drink area to get some much needed refreshments. I congratulate the guy who finished just before me (Pat Small) and he said he heard me coming. I also congratulate a guy who I was racked beside as he was ahead of me on the 1st run and the bike, but I caught him just after leaving transition on the second run. And then of all things, we get treated to an air show of one prop plane overhead doing rolls and loops! What a pleasant surprise and good after race entertainment.

2nd run time – 14:32 (estimated, 7:16 pace)

Final time – 1:15:21. Unfortunately, it was a tough crowd in my AG as 5 out of 10 were in the top 15 out of 71 individual finishers. I finished 13th overall and 4th in my AG, 1:14 behind 3rd. It’s okay though as the AG prizes were small medals and not even the ones that go around your neck. Michelle finished in 1:14:02 and took the Women’s Overall again. Congrats to Michele! Full results are here: 

http://www.eteamz.com/ginosrace/handouts/

Now the better part about this event were the raffle prizes. There were some really good ones, including a new mountain bike if you paid $5 more dollars for an extra raffle. Unfortunately, just not my lucky day as I didn’t win the raffle prizes either. Could’ve used the big tub of hard pretzels. But, Michele came away with a small gear bag.

I chatted with the guy who I was tailing during the bike (Lee Wilk) for a while about the back and forth on the bike course and Lee commented on the fact that I was just gone during T2 and he couldn’t catch me on the 2nd run. Lee was also in my AG and finished 5th. Turns out several of his racing team, DU2R from Ellicott City, were in the top spots today. So I feel even a bit better about being up there with these guys. And unknowingly, a few others in my AG also competed with me at the Richmond Duathlon National Championships in April. Cool.

Well, I was pretty pleased with my run and overall performance, though I still have a good deal of work to do on myself (i.e. weight) and with my bike section.

Unless something changes, that will wrap up the season for me multisport fans!  Until next season, this is Race Report Dave wishing you well in the rest of your season!

 Hi again Tri Race fans!  “Race Report” Dave here with yet another thrilling installment of my multisport happenings during the 2009 season.  This time it was a sprint triathlon at Gifford Pinchot State Park in PA hosted by Trimax Endurance Sports (www.trimaxendurancesports.com). 

The location of this event is a relatively short drive north of Frederick (1 1/2 hours) up route 15 and then a 7 mile drive south along route 74.  Gifford Pinchot SP has a fairly nice lake that’s perfect for triathlon and probably is one reason why both Trimax and Tricatsports put on a few triathlons here. 

In addition to a triathlon here, Trimax also hosts two others, trail runs, and off-road triathlons.  So something for everyone.  This Pinchot Sprint consisted of an OW 3/4 mile swim, a challenging 18.2 mile bike, and a 3.2 relatively flat trail run through the park.  So challenges for everyone on this course. 

 Now I was originally going to do the Eat a Peach Challenge 100-mile century ride the day prior and hadn’t intended on doing this race until a few weeks ago.  But, after the Hagerstown Sprint, I decided that I needed one more USAT-sanctioned sprint triathlon so I could make my season’s standings.  You have to do two in a category as I recall.  Hagerstown is not yet USAT-sanctioned.  So, I went to trifind.com and found Trimax’s sprint was coming up.  It was after EAP, but the sprint wasn’t too expensive.  So, decided I would forgo EAP for this sprint as riding 100 miles the day prior isn’t conducive to racing well.  I was also familiar with the bike course as it was the same as the Olympic I did there last year hosted by Tricatsports. Geez, but that meant I had to get training again as this was less than a couple weeks away! 

 Found out club member Tim Thompson would also more than likely do the event.  Tim did it last year and gave me the scoop on the bike course when I did the Olympic.  Good, always like having someone with me at events to swaps stories of the experience.  So, I looked forward to having Tim there as company.  And as it turns out, I had a hand in motivating Tim on the course.

One area of concern was again the weather.  Forecast models kept going back and forth between rain and no rain.  So, I waited until the last moment to sign up at the lower cost.  Looked like weather was going to cooperate, so I signed up a few days out, but still watched the weather to prepare for the worse.  And it still looked questionable the night before but still seemed like we could get the race in.  So, Saturday night I hit the bed hopeful for a good race day.

Morning arrives too soon and I’m not feeling too chipper.  Restless night and a headache to boot.  Ugh.  Take something for that and grab some coffee.  Headache starts to abate and I get going to get my act together so I can get to the race.  Checking the weather radar in PA, I see some light showers have passed through the race area and are leaving.  Nothing else looks like it’ll affect the race until afternoon.  So, just means maybe a bit of wet roads on the bike.  No problem.  Chow down on my usual whole wheat bagel, peanut butter, and raspberries along with a protein drink.  Race clothes are on, pack up, and head out the door.  Needed more coffee for the road though.

Upon arriving at the park, the earlier rain had created a light mist/fog at the park and I was thinking about the fog that enveloped us on the swim at last year’s Olympic at Pinchot.  But, it’s August versus September and the day was supposed to heat up with the warm front coming through.  So, I was hopeful that we wouldn’t encounter that situation again.

I’m kinda expecting transition in the parking lot where it was for the Olympic last year with Tricatsports.  But, I didn’t immediately see it, so I turn into the main area.  Off to the left side in the grass area, I then see it as I go down the row to park.  I then see a nice looking Cervelo on someone’s car and sigh.  Turns out after I start walking to registration that it’s club member Tim Thompson’s bike!  Chatted about the bike and wheels a bit as I don’t think I’ve ever seen it.  Then we head over to registration, get our race packet, and body marked.  Retrieve our gear and head back to stake out spots in transition.

Now the transition area is small: 3 rack rows with 3 rack sections each. 

So, short bike in/out and swim in/run out.  Looked like there wasn’t really a bad spot anywhere.  So I decide a short swim in/run out might be just a little better.  But, like I said, not much difference here.

Okay, this is a sprint and like Hagerstown, minimum gear needed:  no socks, no gels, no headband.  It was cloudy and I thought perhaps I didn’t need sunglasses either.  I left them with my run gear just in case, though.  Decided to have a visor for the run as it would be easy to grab and put on.  Since this was wetsuit legal, have my wetsuit too.

Even though transition is kinda filling up, there really aren’t too many folks here I notice.  Talk about this to Tim and he said that he found there weren’t too many people entered.  Too bad too, cuz looked like it would be a decent event with good weather.

Well, the pre-race meeting takes place and race director John Cressman gives us the scoop on the courses.  With the small number of folks, it was going to be a mass swim start going around an inverted triangle course, going counter-clockwise around the two buoys in the lake and back around the flag that’s just off shore indicating our start.  The bike I already knew and this has not changed.  The run has changed a bit from last year’s course than the one I had seen online.  Well, just follow the red arrows and flags through the woods. 

Okay, ready to go in a bit.  Wetsuit comes on and I ask Tim to help.  I do the same for him.  We all get checked entering the water as our numbers are on our caps.  Water’s shallow here so we’re standing around rather than treading water like in many other OW swims.  John lets us know that he’ll count down from 3 and blow the air horn to start.  Tim and I see a couple of women who look like swimmers and we comment to them as such.  They say they’re parts of relay teams.  So we both think they’re just going to go and Tim gestures about drafting off of them.  I initially agreed that this would be a good idea.  John then counts down – 3…2…1…(horn sound loudly!!) and we’re off!  Y’know, I thought other races had a lot of bodies mashing each other on the swim this year.  But, I gotta tell ya, this one’s a bit rougher for some reason.  I’ve got folks bumping me all over.  I think I unfortunately was bumping Tim a bit too as we start out.  The gal I was going to follow is actually going a bit slow and breaststroking here and there so I try to get some clear water.  Speaking of which, no weeds this year.  I think Tim said they had cleared them but it might’ve been someone on Beginner Triathlete instead.  Well, I’m doing okay plugging along with my usual stroke and reach the first buoy pretty quickly.  Well, for me anyway.  Keep bumping into folks here and there but after a while as I look left and right while breathing, the field seems to have thinned as we’re coming up to the second buoy.  Round that and I’m tyring to see the flag but it’s difficult to see.  I may let them know that they really need a third buoy here.  As I’m heading to the flag, I get a kick to my face and my goggles go askew!  Quickly lift my head up and try to fix them.  I mostly do but I’ve got a bit more water in one than I’d like.  This only bothers me a bit and I able to press on.  Finally, the flag comes close and I decide to see if I can stand.  I can and jog around the flag.  Tim’s there too and I yell – “One more lap Tim!”  Back into the water we go for the second lap.  Starting to get a bit tired now in the second lap as this is a 3/4 mile swim, a bit longer than your normal sprint tri.  But, I force myself to keep doing bilateral breathing as going to one side tends to push me to the right too much.  Rounding the first buoy again and the field really has thinned.  However, there’s a small grouping of us which I continue to be in.  Rounding the second buoy again and coming back to shore to finish now.  It really takes some concentration on my part to continue bilateral breathing.  But, I reminded myself as I’m plugging along that’s what gets me going right too much.  This works pretty well the rest of the way in.  Gotta tell you though, I still had one guy bumping me and climbing on my legs here and there.  And this other gal I think is drafting off of me, so we occasionally connect every now and then as well.  Finally, I can stand again near the flag and jog out of the water with Tim ahead of me as well as a couple of other folks.

Swim time 21:39.  If this really was a 3/4 mile, this is a great time for me: 1:38/100 yards!  So, I’m kinda thinking the swim might’ve been a bit short, but who knows?

We jog up the slight hill to the transition zone and I’m peeling off my wetsuit as I’m going along as I’ve done in the past.  Wetsuits off, bike shoes go on, helmet on, and I’m off out of transition.  Now, here there a short but a bit steeper grassy incline leading to parking lot where we mount.  I have a bit of difficulty for some reason clipping in, but finally I do and I’m off on the bike course.

T1 time is estimated at 1:20 for wetsuit time maybe the jog up the hill to the transition area.  This is lower than my other times with wetsuit but the transition area is very small and not much jog in or out to deal with as with others.

The bike course is a 9.1 mile loop around the park and one has to complete two loops.  As I’m on the road to exit the park to get on the loop, I see Tim up ahead.  So, goal is to try and pass him if I can.  Little did I know that this would work against me later.  Now as we turn onto the loop, there’s a first really good downhill and I have enough momentum to carry me up the hill afterwards for the most part.  Tim’s still ahead and I just keep in sight here.  Then we go downhill again and I prepare for this nasty hill after the right turn.  But, this year, I have a different cassette on, the 12/27 which should give me a little more to work with in the lower chainring.  Well, it doesn’t quite work out that way and for some reason, my legs are complaining here and I’m breathing much too hard.  I’m really not understanding this and try to get myself composed as I slowly make my way up this hill.  Finally reach the crest and a nice downhill greets me out to the second turn.  Tim’s still ahead, but after a slight uphill and then another downhill to the third turn, I pull ahead until the next uphill where we trade places again.  This hill isn’t so bad and I’m able to spin pretty well up.  Now while this is going on, a few other fast folks catch up and pass both of us and I comment to Tim as we trade places that there are a good number of fast folks here.  After the fourth turn, there is a really fast downhill and I remember last year I took it a 40+ mph and I think I saw 41.2!  What a rush!  Up the next hill and Tim passes again.  Levels off with a few slight rollers and we complete the first lap.  Now, up ahead is one guy who passed us earlier, but something seems amiss as he seems to be doing something with his leg.  So, able to pass by.  More on him later.  As I get to the nasty hill for the second time, I see another rider that passed us by earlier and I pass him on this hill.  Man, this hill is really tough but I’m doing better with it the second time interestingly enough.  Over the crest and my spirits brighten as that’s the last big hurdle on the bike here.  Just hold it together for the next 7+ miles.   Somewhere here, I pass Tim again and continue on.  There are riders here doing their first lap and I begin to pass them as well.  Now, coming up to the last turn, I thank the voluteer directing us and then I think I hear Tim right behind me!  So, I attempt to pour on the speed down this hill.  Tim says later that he was really pedaling here and I’m still pulling away even though I’m coasting.  That’s what a heavier rider and equipment will do.  And as I write this, all I can think of is John Mayer’s song Gravity – “Gravity is working against me, And gravity wants to bring me down.”  And this is so true with me on the return uphill as Tim once again passes me.  I do try my best to catch him, but all I can really do is to maintain here as I complete the second lap and head into the park.  Nice downhill into the park here and this is perfect for getting out of my shoes.  Do so without much trouble, round the corner, balance on one pedal, and hit the grass running into transition.

Bike time estimated at 58:06 min, 18.8 mph/hour though this may be a bit optimistic.

In transition, I am moving quickly and Tim yells not to wait for him.  I won’t but I can’t seem to get in my one shoe right away.  As Tim heads out and is on the path, I’m in shoes running out of transition pretty much on his heels with my race belt and visor in hand.

T2 time estimated at 40 sec.  Small transition area and very short way out onto the run probably made this under 1 min for me. 

The run course is basically an out and back but was described as a lollipop.  Interesting.  So I have this in mind as we run along the lake at first.  I try to keep Tim in sight as we both pass a guy ahead.  Then I’m starting to lose him in the woods the path is running through.  So, I just concentrate at running as fast as I can for the next 3.2 miles through the woods.  The path is an okay surface and mostly flat.  There are a few wet spots here and only one area that requires one to look where you’re running.  Also, there are some gravelly spots as well.  Now, I’ve really lost Tim and I come up to what is probably the first mile with a water stop.  Take a cup, one gulp, use the rest to cool off, keep running.  Follow the red arrows and flags.  This is a winding course here and one could easily get turned around.  Somewhere around the 1.5 mile point, I pass a person who will be the first overall woman finisher.  I meant to say something but I was really moving hard and concentrating on what I was doing.  Turn a corner and see guy up ahead plus what looks like yet another guy who might’ve gone a wrong way.  He presses ahead of the first guy  and I start to catch up to both of them.  Now here we go down a pretty steep hill with lots of stones and gravel.  I realize this is the same uphill on the 10K for the Olympic here that I had to do twice last year.  It was a relief going down it instead of up!  I did have to watch my footing though.  Once down this hill, I catch the first guy and we’re now retracing our path where we came into the woods from.  Just before the water stop, I pass the second guy.  Take another water, one gulp, the rest for cooling down, and press onward.  Now this is the last stretch and I can start to see the lake again come up.  This helps my pace a bit and up ahead, I see another guy and I overtake him just after we come back out onto the path by the lake we started on.  I see another guy ahead, but there’s not enough of the course left to overtake him as the finish is in sight.  So, I do my best to sprint to the finish and come in really quite spent from the run.  The nice volunteers take my race number info and point me over to the Gatorade and water.

Run time – 23:17 or 7:17/mile pace.  A good time for me and I was 8^th overall in the run by my accounts.

I’m moving pretty slowly to get something to drink and it takes a while to recover.  Final time – 1:45:02.  Placed 13^th overall out of 49 and 2^nd in AG,  third time this seaon!!

I congratulate a few of the folks coming in after me that I passed on the run on a good race and spend a bit of time recovering.  BTW, remember the one guy I passed the bike on the second lap who looked like was having a problem?  Talked to him to and turns out he had a bee sting him of all things!  Shows you just what can happen during your tri. 

As we’re in the top third, Tim and I have finished quite ahead of a lot folks and there’s ample time to pack up our gear and load it back into the car.  There are unfortunately no showers at this part of the park, so I headed back down to the lake and took a refreshing dip to get the sweat off me and cool off a bit more.  As promised for post-race food, pizza has arrived and I decided to go ahead and have a slice.  This might’ve been a mistake as I was having some sort of digestive problem later in the evening.  I really don’t care for pizza after a race as it just doesn’t really do my innards well when I’ve put forth that much effort.  After this, Tim and I stick around for awards and raffle prizes (didn’t win anything this time).  We took turns taking pictures of each other receiving them. 

Talked to the race folks for a bit and then it’s time to head home.

Overall, I thought this was a good sprint with enough challenges for experienced and beginners.  Now the bike is a bit tough for beginners, but mostly due to that one hill.  And the advertised swim can also be a bit daunting as most sprints I’ve been in are usually 1/4 to 1/2 mile.  The run was course was fine and offered the challenge of a trail run vs a street run.  Now a few comments I made on the feedback sheet:

-         They should have chip timing.

-         I prefer bagels, fig newtons, and fruit to pizza.  The latter is just a bit much to digest for me.  Plus, pizza’s fairly fattening.  And what’s pizza without beer anyway? 

-         They really need a third buoy instead of the flag that they used.

-         They have to advertise with clubs a bit more or something.  To be fair, there were several other competing events this weekend, namely Steelman in Quakertown, a sprint in Boiling Springs PA, and the Spirit of Morgantown Tri festival.  I actually didn’t hear about this but was searching for another sprint on trifind.com that wouldn’t interfere with possible other plans and was close by.  But, 49 people is pretty small no matter.

-         The transition area should be on the flat area of the parking lot as Tricatsports did for their Olympic. Mind you, it didn’t make too much difference with the small transition area in this case, but I did like the flat parking area and no short hill out of transition better.

-         Have practical awards like mugs or cups.  Now, this is kinda dependent on the racer.  There are some folks who may actually do something with their medals like frame them with pictures.  But, lately, I’ve come to appreciate practical awards better.  I have two glasses for finishing events and an mug for an AG award which I use often.  The medals sit on my desk gathering dust.

- They needed a few people directing on the run.  Like I said above, one guy got lost at the intersection where the course comes back on itself.  There were a few other places I could see where folks might’ve gone the wrong way in the heat of the race.

Well, that wraps up another successful event, tri race fans!  Hope you enjoyed my account and that perhaps you’ll consider racing in this event in a future season.

Until next time…

 ”Race Report” Dave

 Hi again Tri Race fans!  “Race Report” Dave here with another thrilling account of my multisport endeavors during the 2009 season.  And this time it’s the popular Hagerstown Sprint Triathlon hosted by Racine MultiSports with club member Ken Racine calling the shots as race director.  For those of you unfamiliar with this race, it takes place just off I-70, exit 28, route 632 in Martin L Snook park.  So, it’s real close to the Frederick area.  The course consists of a 300m pool swim (12 lengths), 11.5 mile bike on mostly lightly rolling terrain, and a 5K run through the park which has no significant hills.  So, this course is a fast one for the experienced triathlete and just right in my opinion for beginner triathletes and folks looking to complete their first triathlon.  Hence why this event has gained such popularity in the short 3 years it’s been held.

Now before I continue, I should also say for you parents of young kids who want them to transition in your tri footsteps that there’s usually a Kids Tri the day before the regular Sprint Tri and this year was no exception.  So I had volunteered to help at the Kids Tri the evening prior and it’s always a blast seeing these kids “tri”ing their hearts out on their bikes.  I often wonder whether the flower basket or streamers on my bars would do anything for my overall performance   Anyway, something to consider for your budding triathlete.

In addition to the Kids Triathlon, packet pickup for the Sprint Tri was also available at the same time.  This worked out well as I don’t think it was available the first year.  So, that was one less thing I had to be concerned with the next day.

Okay, back to the main event.  Now because of it’s increase in popularity and limited number of entries, one should register for this event fairly early and I signed up in January to ensure a slot.  Since I had signed up so early, I found I was in one of the early swim start time blocks, 6:30 – 7:30 AM.   This meant that I had to get up at around 3:40 AM so that I could get there with plenty of time to grab a spot in transition since it was first come, first serve.  Well, roll with it and adjust as necessary as usual.

Of great concern during the week was the weather.  As many of you know, I’ve had my share of weather extremes the last couple of years, from downpouring rain, thunderstorms, and high wind to blazing heat and humidity.  So, this is always a concern.  And of course, I couldn’t go the entire season without some sort of rainy event, huh?  Looking at the weather model output, it was looking like this was the one.  Forecast consistently called for showers, though with the heavier weather in the afternoon.  At least it wouldn’t be too hot and starting early meant no real wind during the bike.  And in some ways, I do much better on the run if it’s cloudy with showers.  So, maybe this wasn’t a bad thing after all.  At least it would be short.  The one thing that could really put a damper on it was a thunderstorm during the pool swim.  Didn’t look like that would be the case, though.

Before this event, I also prepared for the bike-to-run transition with a double brick the week prior.  This turned out to be a good way to prepare I think as I also got more familiar with the run course as it had changed since I ran it a couple of years ago.  It also told me just what I was capable of as well during the second brick where I went pretty much at race pace.

Okay, it’s race morning now and looking at the radar, it’s lightly raining (sigh).  And even heavier showers are moving in from the southwest.  Well, deal with it and get going.  Prepare my usual pre-race breakfast: protein drink, whole wheat bagel with organic peanut butter and raspberries, and coffee. Yum!  Then I had to pack a bit more due to lack of time the night before.  Get my racing clothes on which helps me mentally to prepare for the race.  Out the door a bit later than I wanted but I got there in plenty of time.

At the event parking area, it is dark and lightly raining.  Dang.  But, I get my gear and bike and move over to transition.  Club member Dave Warner is there waiting to filter folks into transition.  We chat for a moment and I find the spot near the Bike In/Out area of transition.  I have found if I can pick the spot, I’d rather be near this part as it gives me a better T1 time and I find that I warm up my legs better running through most of transition and they’re much better to go when I actually get on the run course.  After racking my bike, make my way over to body marking, come back to lay out gear, half fill aero container, and pump tires.  Now for this race, I was going very minimal: no socks, no sunglasses, no hat, no gel, and no headband.  I only needed the very basics for this distance as it’s more about speed than endurance.  And since it was cloudy and rainy, I didn’t need a lot that I would usually have on a longer race with better weather.  In addition, I only took 2 Clif Blocks in my bento box on my bike and planned on taking both of these at the 1/2 mile out and back on Industrial Lane as that would allow the sodium and caffeine to kick in during the run.  Pretty much done by around 6-ish.  And the rain continues to fall.

As other folks filter in, club member Julian Coiner shows up and he’s on the end of my rack.  We chat then for a bit.  Not sure in what order, but I get to chat also with George Corbi, Jason Senuta, Kip Jawish, Bernie Sellers, Chris Hall, and Elite Herb Spicer while we’re all waiting for things to get going.  This is George’s first real tri and we did the double brick together the week prior.  So, I’ve been offering tips that I found useful to him, but really up to him to see what works.  Find out that since there’s no Clydesdale category, Kip is in my AG as well.  I also know there’s a strong cyclist by the name Robert Gramm who’s in my AG and attempting his first tri.   So, there’s competition now in my new AG this year.  I thought this should be interesting. 

Ken Racine holds the prerace meeting and answers questions from the racers as the rain continues to fall.  Unfortunately, the race is delayed a bit due to some unforeseen difficulties but Ken assures us we’ll get going as soon as we can. 

Not too long after, the first group of folks in the swim line up and I get out of their way while waiting for my group of numbers.  The rain really starts to come down in spurts and many folks are trying to find shelter here and there.  And it’s starting to make an impact on many of us as we start to shiver in the cool rain.  I tried to lightened the mood a bit here and there by telling some of my own crazy weather tri stories which people seem to appreciate.

At last, it’s time for me to line up for the swim portion (in the pouring rain again mind you).  This is a pool swim of 328 yards (300m), 12 lengths/6 laps.  In order to get folks out on the course as quickly as possible, this year’s swim format was different than the first year I did it.  That year, groups of 12 went in and the next group wouldn’t start until that group was completely done.  This year was more of a continuous swim where when a person in a lane was done, the next person on deck would get in the water and a 30 sec countdown commenced from a given time on the race clock.   While in line, Meredith Roark is there (though I was embarassed to say that I didn’t recognize her in her tri/swim outfit).  So we talked about the season and then wished each other well as we got on deck.  Just then, the rain seems to be lightening up quite a bit (halleluyah!).  And so, it’s my turn.  Get in the water and my lane volunteer starts the countdown…30 sec….20 sec (start my stopwatch)…15 sec….10 sec…5..4..3..2..(go underwater and count 1…)…GO!  Now, I’m not the fastest swimmer out there as many of you know.  But, I can push off the walls with a lot of power so I do this with every turn today.  The first couple of laps I think I’m actually moving fairly well for me but the wall pushoffs help a great deal too.  At the 5^th lap, I’m getting a bit tired but continue to press as best I can.  I see the kickboard in the water at the end of the lane indicating this is the last lap and now start to go anaerobic with my stroke trying to put a sprint in, especially for the last length.  Hit the wall and popup out of the water, trying to ensure I don’t injure myself in the process.  And I’m running out of the pool area, down the steps, and into transition.

There were no split times so estimate my pool swim at 5:45.  May have been faster because I think I might have been moving better with the powerful wall pushoffs.

Go to my gear, get my helmet on, and have some difficulty getting my wet biking shoes on.  Takes me just a little bit longer than I would’ve liked to do this but get them on and jog with my bike to the mount area which is right there.  Dave Warner yells well wishes and luck to me and I’m off on the bike course.

T1 estimate 1:33

Now, the rain had really let up thank goodness, but the roads were pretty wet.  So, I just had to be careful about the turns.  I’ve trained and ridden the course several times so knew pretty much what to expect.  As I’m breathing with some effort, I know that I’m just below Lactate Threshold and try to relax just a bit so I can save something for the run.  But, I find that I’m not too uncomfortable and just decide to go with this level of effort.  After all, this is about speed and not really endurance.  I come up on a cyclist ahead of me and pass by.  Then another.  And interestingly enough, I pass a guy I recognized – Kip!  He doesn’t go until later but I was confused for a bit and later found out he was just warming up.  As I make the second turn for Governor Lane Blvd, I see another person way up ahead and go into chase mode.  Make the turn onto Industrial Lane for the short out and back and see several folks on this part of the course.  I proceed to pass a few others and as I make the turn onto Edward Daub, pass a couple more.  The only short hills in the course come up ahead and six folks are ahead of me but most are on hybrids or mountain bikes.  Basically zoom past.  After the turn on Sterling, there’s one person who is moving smartly on a road bike and I try to chase him down as well.  Finally pass him after another turn.  Wow, entering the park for the final leg and pass someone else.  Pass by Julian who’s on the run course and he yells something like “Get going Lance!”  Now, that might’ve been Kip as I passed him again right about here.  That’s when the the final downhill appears and I’m hammering in the 53 x 11 for all its worth, passing two more folks in the process.  I had practiced where to get out of my shoes and that point appears.  Get out of my bike shoes but almost forget to swing my leg over and balance to the dismount.  But, do that successfully again and hit the dismount line running to my rack area.

Bike time estimate 32 min

I very quickly rack my bike, take off my helmet, and slip on my shoes.  They unfortunately are wet and I should’ve turned them over to prevent the rain from soaking the inside.  I make sure real quick that I don’t have debris in them, slip them on (lock laces make all the difference in transition!), grab my race belt with my number, and head out to the run course.  As I do so, I hear Ken on the loudspeaker say “There goes Dave Miller who’s burning up the course today” (or something like that).  That actually gave me a bit of a boost to get going.

T2 estimated time 1 min.  That might have been less as I only had to put on shoes today and headed out, putting my race belt on as I did so.

My legs feel just a little slow but not bad and I feel like I’m moving pretty well as I get onto the run course.  From last week’s double brick, I estimated I ran the course at a 6:57 pace.  So I knew what I was capable of.  Chris Hall has already finished and is there at the pavillion after the first turnaround to wish me well and says I’m moving well.  Julian comes back into view as he’s about to finish with me heading out and we exchange “fives”.  Now not quite a mile into the run, I was thinking how nice it would be to just sit and rest a spell, but quickly shake that thought out of my head.  Part of the run course took us out onto the grass for another turnaround and I thought this was kinda interesting.  I almost ran into the tape because I didn’t see the “entrance” the grass part outline by the tape.  I was a bit afraid of slipping too as it was still wet but the grass proved to be no problem.  As I’m coming back onto the paved path, I see George and think that he’s going to catch me here as he’s a faster runner than me.  So, I’m motivated to keep my legs going as I complete mile one and get onto the park road.  Now I’m passing a good number of folks so I know I’m moving.  And it becomes a bit difficult on mile two as we go up a slight hill to the next turn around.  But, it doesn’t present any real problem as I know on the way back I’ll use gravity to my advantage.  I then see George make the turn on the grass and I thought that he seems to have slowed as I would’ve thought he would be closer behind me.   So, perhaps he isn’t going to catch me.  Well, no time to think like that now and needed to continue my pace.   I take one gulp from some water at the aid station near the final turn around and pour the rest on myself.  I reach the turn around and start the last mile back to the finish.  Interestingly, the sun is starting to come out and I can feel a bit more humidity at this point but that doesn’t seem to affect me too much.  Now the same downhill I hammered on the bike is with me on this last part.  I see George going up the hill here as I’m on this part and wish him well.  I’m starting to breathe hard but using gravity to carry me along down the hill as fast as I’ll allow it.  The hill ends and I turn going back up the path but then using a last downhill to carry me quickly to the last turn uphill to the finish.  I’m up the hill, the Finish arch is in sight, and I charge forward giving everything in a final sprint!  The announcer calls my name as I reach and pass under the arch to the waiting nice volunteers.  They hand me some very apperciated cold water, take my number tag, and drape a finishing medal over my neck (which is a nice touch for everyone). Yea!  My second Hagerstown Sprint Triathlon is complete.

I stopped my watch just after the finish and looked the time – 1:02:31.  Since I started it 20 sec early, that would mean 1:02:11.  Wow!  That’s 3:30 under my time two years ago of 1:05:41.  So at the least, I was pretty sure I PR’d for the course.

I stuck around the finish area and see George, Jason, and Herb finish.  We all talked for some time and clapped for others finishing.  Talk to Dan Pfeil who was here for support.  I then walked over to the pool area as there were still many others who had yet to start the race.  Checked out the numbers on folks and found a new friend I recently met online via BeginnerTriathlete.com.  Her name is Linda (or online Terps421).  It was great to again meet someone you just exchange messages with.  From her logs, she’s a good distance runner, does weight training, and is improving her swim and cycling abilities.  So, we discussed tris, the race, the Frederick Tri Club, cycling, and where she lived.  Turns out Boonsboro, so we’ll have to get together for some rides as I have a few routes I like to do there.  And looking post race at the BT website, which has a section devoted to discussing the race, others from BT realized who I was later on and had some comments for me.

Well, finally it was time to grab my wet gear out of transition and put it in the car.  I really dislike when all the stuff gets wet like that.  But, the sun was now out and I just put it all out to dry in the car.  Decided to at least put on the race T-shirt and see about wishing other folks well.  It was then I found that Kip was still waiting.  I think it was near 10 by this time.  He was in the last group to go into the pool and unfortunately he had a beginner in his lane who was having a hard time consistently doing freestyle.  Now, mind you, I’m not putting this person down here.  Anyone that attempts and completes a triathlon is far ahead of a lot of other folks out there, no matter their abilities.  I was just feeling for Kip as he had been waiting quite a while already.  But his turn did come.  What was interesting is the guy next to Kip also took off quickly and Kip worked to catch up at the wall.  But, then the guy paused and started to do breaststroke and you could just tell Kip was thinking “Where’d he go?”.

Well, meet back up with George and hung around the pavilion waiting for the last folks to come in and results to be tallied.  Now because there’s no chip timing, this takes quite a long time.  So much so, that Ken promised to have it next year.  We cheer Kip as he passes by on his run and I jokingly stick my foot out to mimic tripping him up.  And then about 15 min later, we see him finishing and go to discuss the race with him.  Then back to the pavilion to wait some more.  Take in a bit of food there as well which consisted of cookies, bagel chunks, fruit, and bars.  Drink was water and Heed.  Actually, I prefer that to pizza that they’ve had at some events.  Can’t stomach that quite as well after an event.

While we’re waiting, Ken raffles off some prizes and I actually get a swim workout training book, which I may already have.  If so, I’ll have to pass it along to someone else in the club that would like it.

So the big moment of awards finally arrives.  In the Overall placings, Herb Spicer took 1^st with a new course record and Jason Senuta took 2^nd.  George took 1^st in M 45-59 (his first real tri), Kip took 1st in M 50-54, and Meta Hernandez took 1^st in W 35-39.  Linda, the gal from BT, took 2nd in W 45-49 and I congratulated her later.

Now, there was some intraclub rivalry going on before the race and emails flying back and forth on this.  So, after Kip was announced as taking 1^st in our division, Ken mentioned this rivalry and then called me to the podium.  I came in 34 sec behind Kip and took 2^nd in M 50-54!  Final time – 1:02:03.  That’s 3:38 under two years ago!  I placed 12^th out of 278 finishers.  So I was very pleased with my performance as it really showed how much I’ve learned during the last couple of years.  I had hoped a bit to get done under an hour, but perhaps another year.

During the awards ceremony, I realized that there were beginners taking AG awards who had not expected it.  It was then I actually felt a bit guilty taking an AG award away from such a person.  Now into my third season with several races under my belt including three Half Ironman distances, I believe I’m an experienced triathlete and probably at the intermediate level.  So, the AG award doesn’t mean quite as much to me in this case.  So, I suggested to Ken that for next year, perhaps have an Open Division.  These would be the people who are experienced, faster, and would be akin to the pros in the larger races.  These folks would go as a group in the swim and be separated from the true beginners, which for many, this is their first tri.  People in the Open Division would expect to have finishing times under 1:05.  But, folks would still have a choice whether they felt comfortable doing this and could still enter the AG division if not. 

Well, that wraps up another successful event, tri race fans!  Hope you enjoyed my account and that perhaps you’ll consider racing in this event in a future season.

Until next time…

“Race Report” Dave

Ken Racine’s Race Report from Geneva, NY….Mussleman Half IM, July 19, 2009

The weather in Genvea was mild, low 70′s for the high and mid level humidty.

Winds steady at 8-10 mph.

Race time was 7:00am, my wave began at 7:12. There were 900 in this race.

Swim (1.2 miles) was good with a water temp of 69 so the wetsuit was on,

water felt great and was clear. Felt good the entire swim and with the

exception of going wide on two turns I was happy with my swim 35 mins and

change. Air temp was 61 at the start.

T1 was about 1:30

Bike (57 miles) was windy with rolling hills. About 1800 ft of climbing. I

felt good and pushed it not worrying about the run. This paid off and I

finished the bike in 2:42 (20.7 mph). I was happy with the result.

T2 was 2:00 as I put on socks and did not have quick laces.

Run began with a pee stop 100 yrds into the run. The run course is hilly

but fair (2 miles flat, 9 miles of hills, 2 miles flat). I liked the course

but held back some as my legs hurt from the bike and I was afraid of

cramping. At mile 8 you reach the peak and its down hill from there. I did

the last 3.1 miles fast to ensure I finished within 5:20. Run tile was 1:57

(9:00 per mile). I need to work on my run some more.

Finish time was 5:19:30. I was happy with this since my goal was sub 5:30.

The family came along too and both kids did a kids triathlon. My daughter

finished middle of the pack in the young kids race. My son won the older

kids race. We will likely repeat next year.

Cheers!

Hi once again, Tri race fans! This is “Race Report” Dave with another detailed race report covering my participation in this year’s Eagleman 70.3 Half Ironman triathlon. For those that are unfamiliar with this event, it’s held on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, based out of the town of Cambridge roughly 3 hours from Frederick. The event has some history to it and was eventually named for the Bald Eagles which visit Dorchester County. This is quite a popular event as it’s near many large metropolitan areas and is a fairly good one for a first Half Ironman as the bike and run courses are FLAT, FLAT, FLAT. Now, that doesn’t mean this is a cakewalk. Far from it. But, if the weather cooperates (i.e. little to not too much wind, light to no chop/waves for the swim), you don’t like hills, and you can really mash the gears while also crushing the run, then this is the course for you!

Some of you new to triathlon probably didn’t see my report from last year’s Eagleman. Last year, this race was my first Half Iron distance and it literally was a trial by fire as temperatures reached the upper 90s on the run course with heat indexes in the 100s! Well, didn’t need that again this year, though truth be told I prefer that to a soaking rain. Everything gets soaked in transition, cools down, and you can’t enjoy the after event festivities. So, 2 weeks out I started to watch the weather forecast models and check out the trends. They bounced around a bit between rain and no rain but none of them looked like a repeat of the heat. And the day before race, weather was shaping up good – 62 at race start, 80 for a high, light winds 3-8 mph, partly to mostly cloudy skies, 20-30% rain, light chop on the water. I was thinking that it just doesn’t get much better.

Now, believe it or not, I actually started to train for this in October/November timeframe. Mostly I was trying to get strength training back. But, as many of you know, I’ve had my share of health problems and training came to a dead stop in January with lasting effects for the next several weeks. After that, just couldn’t stay healthy. The last two things that happend were a hamstring strain 5 weeks out which cut run training to nil and a cold a week prior which also lingered a bit into the race day. Needless to say, I wasn’t up to par for the race but I said I would walk the 13.1 miles if I had to. Little did I know that statement nearly came true.

Okay, now that the weather looked like a go and I had committed myself to finishing the race above all else, the anticipation started to grow as I headed down to Cambridge with former club member Mike Matney. Mike had something to prove on this course as last year didn’t go as well as he hoped, though this was his B race as he’s in training for Ironman Wisconsin. Mike was fortunate that he lives closer now and had come to train on the courses a few times prior to the race. We arrived in Cambridge in time to hear the pro panel speak. No bike inspection like last year so we had plenty of time after we arrived. We first picked up our race packets and goodie bag. Some good stuff again this year – hat, nice T-shirt, water bottle. I think there was an energy bar as well. Met up with club member Vicki Bate and her friend Kathy as they were waiting for the free Active Release Therapy (ART) folks that were next to the stage. I thought, “Hey, maybe that can fix my hamstring” and I signed up as well. Just before the pro panel started, club members Dan Pfeil and Jason Senuta arrived on the scene as well. Just after the pro panel started, the ART therapist called my name. Told him what was wrong and he proceeded to basically fix me. It actually did seem to work! Wow! I was quite a bit more confident about my ability to run after this. Have to check into this back at Frederick!

The pro panel was interesting and consisted of Terenzo Bozzone, Desiree Flicker, Michael Lovato, and I think Chris McDonald. Michael MC’d and did a great job at keeping things very light and moving along. Mike and I got our picture with Desiree this year. Sweet! She took 3rd in women pros, BTW.

After this, we said goodbyes to Vicki and Kathy and said we’d see them at dinner. Mike wanted to ride over to transition to check in his bike and so I’d drive. We also were going to check out the swim and get a bit of practice there in. So, after checking our bikes in, we tested the water. It was pretty warm considering and I wished I had a john vs a full the suit. The only good thing about a full suit is that it protected me from what Mike found out about – sea nettles! Yup, these are a kind of jellyfish and a few of them have entered into the Choptank River from the bay. Now, Mike only got brushed by one it looked like and I found out later that I apparently hit one as there are sting marks around my wrist. Unless you’re allergic, they’re not really any worse than a minor bee sting. They are a discomfort though. During the swim, my left shoulder starts to really bother me which indicates I haven’t loosened my suit enough. Funny though because all my long distance swims with the wetsuit, I didn’t start noticing anything like this so early in the swim. But, I was able to go out to the first buoy and come back okay. I’d just have to remember about loosening my suit I thought at the time.

Off to dinner meeting back up with Vicki and Kathy, plus we see Bernie Sellers there as well. A few other folks. Then checked into the hotel and met with club members Tamara Bruce and Julian Coiner to catch up on things and discuss the race. Since Julian was discussing his lack of training, we decided my goal should be to catch him if I could actually run. I actually thought at that point that I had a chance too. Said goodbyes, wished all good luck, and headed back to the hotel to prepare and get some shut eye. Tomorrow would come too early and it was going to be a long day on Sunday. However, the sleep is broken by a thunderstorm sometime around midnight and I think about all the bikes getting wet and what the transition area will be like.

RACE DAY! All the alarms and wake up call go off around 3:45 AM and I drag myself to the coffee machine. Ahhh, the nectar of morning. So, breakfast today consisted of a raisin bagel, raspberry yogurt, and carbohydrate drink. I missed my little bit of peanut butter, though. After the rest of the morning routine, pack and head out. Now the Holiday Inn Express at Easton actually prepared little bags of food/drink for the triathletes to take and this was most appreciated.

Transistion opened at 5 and we get there shortly afterward. As you’d expect, the transition area is bustling with activity as everyone has to be out by 6:55. The pros actually start at 6:40 with next wave 5 min after that and then every 9 minutes after that. I get body marked and go find my spot again. As I am in Wave 9 near the end, I’m not in much of a hurry. I also didn’t leave anything back at the car this time like last yer. Everything’s pretty wet from the thunderstorm and I dry things off a bit. Set my stuff up just so, pump tires, and fill my drink bottles. As we had to wear our numbers on the bike, made sure my race belt was on my bike shoes so I wouldn’t forget. Then socks or no socks on the bike? I had been debating this and decide to go with no socks as the transition area is a bit muddy here and there from the night’s rain. Then, I’m pretty much done in no time and decide to wish others well who are going ahead of me. And I found a little over half the club members – Julian, Tamara, Mike, Dan, Jason, and Geoff. I also see Ricardo who is a volunteer here! Way to go Ricardo!

I see elites Lucas McCollum in my rack row and then Herb Spicer and realize both gentlemen are in my wave. Talk about a little competitive pressure! But, my spirits are pretty high as I joke to the other folks around me that we should get some lounge chairs and umbrellas while we wait for our wave to start since we have so much time.

It is mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 60s as the waves start to get going with a breeze over the water. I head over to the start to watch a couple of the waves go off to see if I can gleam any intel on how they look. A pro last year advised us to do this to check out any current. One thing I do notice is that it looks like a better line starting left than right and so I decided to do this when it was my turn. I then see some folks from the wave before me start to line up and realize it’s time to get it together. I try to warm up and stretch but I really don’t get as much out of this as I should. I normally jog a little bit to get the heart rate up but I’m still afraid of my hamstring and don’t want to chance anything. It does still feel better since the ART and I also put a brace on it just for more support. So, I probably should’ve. My shoulder’s still sore from the day prior and this is not a terrific sign of things prior to the swim. Still I just needed to remind myself to loosen up the top of the suit as much as I could.

Wetsuit is now on and I’m in line with other folks from my wave. It’s a big one too – M 50-54, M 25-29, Men 13-19, and Clydesdales. I line up not too far from the front on the left as I decided. Timer says 1 min and I start my watch….30 sec…15…10…5….GO! Can’t remember if the horn blared or not as well. Anyway, there is now MASS PANDAMONIUM in the water!! The water is a churning area of bodies and neon green caps! Man, I had never been in this much of a churning mass before, not even last year! And then I realize it might’ve been a mistake lining up in front as faster guys are clamoring over me and bumping into me all over the place! While this is good to catch feet and draft, it proves to be a bit difficult to get my rhythm going. Still, I don’t seem to be doing that bad as I get up to the first buoy. There are still a good number of neon green caps around. And I seem to be more relaxed than one would think for all the action around me. I just press on and let folks bump and roll off my legs when it happens. My sighting for this first leg and actually the second weren’t too bad and I wasn’t going off course too much. This despite the fact that the breeze is at our face before the first turn and we have a little bit of chop on the water, more than I was expecting. Now, after the second turn starts the long stretch to the second set of turns before going into shore. This stretch takes its toll on my left shoulder and I’m finding it’s getting tired pretty quickly. So I try to compensate by only doing one side sometimes. That works to give me relief but I find myself going right when I do this too much. So, I have to sight more than I should to stay on course. I can see also, that I’m starting to lose a bit of ground with the rest of the wave too. But, I push myself forward. One thing working in our favor is the wind is with us and helping to push us forward as well. The third turn buoy finally comes up. I’m getting tired now and I’m starting to breast stroke a bit more than I should. But onward I go as the last turn buoy is coming up. This puts us back in the wind and its a bit of a challenge to continue pressing. Still, the transition arch is in sight. I finally get close enough to touch bottom and decide it’s better to jog into shore. And I emerge from the water completing the swim portion of this year’s Eagleman!

I find out later that I actually did a bit better than last year – 40:16. Still slow but not bad for me. 50/81 in AG

Okay, my rack is real close to the swim in area and I know I’ve got to get my wetsuit off quickly. No zipper problem (it’s been stuck in the past) and peel the top down to my waist as I jog along. At my rack, get the rest of it off, put number on, put shoes on, sweat band, sun glasses, and finally helmet. And I’m outta there! Last year, I really took my time but now I’m a bit more practiced and shaved nearly 4 minutes off of last year’s T1 time – 2:44 26/81 AG

At the bike mount area and I’m off on the bike portion. I still don’t have my shoes in my pedals yet and will save that for perhaps next season. Now, the bike course is pretty darn flat with some slight changes in elevation. The challenges on the bike course are the unpredictable winds when they’re there and the fact that you’re always pedaling. So, I try not to hammer here and keep cadence in the 80s. Like last year, I’ve started my countdown timer to remind to take in food and drink about every 20 min. My nutrition consisted of my electrolyte drink, shot blocks, water, and electrolyte pills. I also had some gel with me just in case but I would stick to the main stuff along the way. On the way out, the wind seemed to have stiffened up a lot more that I was expecting. In several places this was a crosswind and in others a tailwind. But, I should’ve realized that meant a possible headwind on the way back. I was moving along smartly passing a good number of people and trying as best as I could to not get in the way of the faster folks. I passed Lisa Houck at one point and wished her a good ride. I wished a few others the same. Saw a few blocking issues and a few drafting folks which I really dislike seeing. Anyway, the first half of the bike seemed fairly uneventful though we did have to watch we didn’t move over some newly cut rumble strips on the road shoulder. As traffic was light, just stayed on the road and avoided these. So, I was hopeful at mile 31 of a having a good ride as my average speed was 21 mph. But, turning to the NE at that point, the headwind hit us. I had to downshift to keep the cadence up. Actually, what I should’ve realized was just how much this was affecting me and I should’ve cut speed and kept cadence much higher. But, I attempted to keep pushing it a bit. There was also a guy in my AG I was chasing too and I finally caught and passed him on a leg that gave us a tailwind for a bit. But on the rest of the return trip, pushing into the headwind led to the problems I encountered later. And I was getting tired. Still, nothing was really bothering me per se. Last year, my quads started to cramp at mile 40 and this year, there wasn’t anything like that except a bit in my calves early on. At mile 45, I take the gatorade bottle to replenish my electrolyte drink. I also decided to take a few big drinks too so I would stay hydrated. Nutrition seemed to be going well also as I paused enough to take in a block, water, pill, or combination thereof. After nearly 20 miles or so of the wind in my face, I finally saw a turn I recognized to be near the town and my spirits brightened. I was actually looking forward to the run at this point to get out of this headwind. Last turn now onto a straightaway leading right into transition and I get out of my shoes. I’ve gotten much better at this since I first attempted this a Mussleman last year. My one hamstring complained but I relaxed and eased out of the shoe. Then the other one. And as I come up to the dismount point, I smartly swing my one leg over my seat and balance on the other pedal with both feet and then hit the ground running off the bike into T2. The ground’s a bit muddy but I didn’t really care as I jogged with my bike to my rack. And the picture of me I saw shows me smiling as I’m doing this. It was a good transition from bike to run. Bike time 2:53:14 39/81 in AG

In T2, I remove my helmet after racking my bike and then remvoe a bit of dirt from my feet and try to get socks on as quickly as possible. Then shoes slip on. I shouldn’t have paused here to put on my hat and should’ve just grabbed everything and left. So just a few seconds there lost. Still T2 time is also much improved from last year – 2:46, which is a minute and a half better than last year.
17/81 in AG

Okay, I’m now out of transition just starting the run course and even pass a guy asking if we’re having fun and is this the fun part? So, I’m in good spirits and not feeling bad, happy that I’m on the last part of the triathlon without a mechanical on the bike. Alas, it all falls apart right here. Right after passing this guy, both quads cramp, hurt, and freeze up. I am in disbelief as to what is happening and try to ignore this but just can’t. I stop. Legs completely stiffen and I now can barely walk. A wave of light panic comes over me. I really don’t believe this and am in somewhat a state of shock! I hobble around the corner and try to stretch things out. Then jog a little. Back to walk. As a round the next corner, there’s a photographer. This picture tells it all – head is down, I’m stiff legged, and walking. No smile this time. (Pic can be seen here:
http://www.asiorders.com/go.asp?54960647 )

Okay, I try to relax my legs and get them to a point where I can at least lightly jog or shuffle. The pain has not exactly gone away, though, and they try to cramp up on me again. After a while, I’m finally able to lightly jog and stop when I need to. Decide I should walk through each aid station and see if I can run/jog in between. That was my strategy last year but I wasn’t in pain then. I find I can’t keep to this strategy and end up stopping to walk more often than I would’ve liked. I then realize after the first couple of aid stations that I have gotten dehydrated more than I expected as I was really throwing the water down. The sun was out by this time and temperature by now was in the low 80s. With little shade on the run course, I decided I should continue to down a couple of water cups at each aid station. The run course is an out and back with earlier runners going the other way back to finish. And I see Mike, Vicki, and Tamara. I looked for Julian but never recognized him. I tell Tamara that I’m not having a good run and won’t be catching her today. The “jog when I can, stop when I have to” strategy continues for 8 miles. And it’s fairly painful each step. Last year, I was feeling so good even in the heat that I started to sing to myself at the halfway point. Not this year. I feeling pretty lousy. And I look at my watch to check my time. It’s taken over an hour to get here. (sigh) No PR on this course unless some miracle occurs. Now, after this, I do get a few boosts of encouragement from folks passing me and this does go a long way to keeping me going. Interestingly at mile 8, I don’t know what happened but I was able to force myself to run/jog to each aid station and walk through them. No stopping in between any more. I was able to pass a few people that had passed me earlier and were still stopping along the way. But, it’s still real difficult to keep going here. And the number of folks going out are growing smaller. I did see Lisa Houck and wished her well while saying things weren’t going well. The last few run mile stretches are becoming agonizingly long now. But, after passing the last aid station at mile 12, there’s only 1.1 miles to go. I see the last turn ahead and continue to run forward knowing the finish is less than a mile now. I am pushing harder, anxious to finish, but I have no idea at this point just what is keeping me going and not falling down. Last couple of turns and I see the turn to the finish. Incredibly, there’s another “Dave” in front of me and I somehow manage a short sprint to the finish while passing him. And while I know the crowd is cheering him, I hear shouts to “DAVE”! to finish strong. Just at the finish, arms go up in triumph but I think perhaps more in relief that I’m done. Run time 2:27:06 11:14 pace

Final time and stats: 6:06:04 50/81 AG, 778/1050 Men, 1029 out of all competitors

I stop long enough to allow the nice volunteers to take my chip and give me my finishing medal. I’m moving very slowly ahead to the gatorade table and grab one to take along as I get out of the way of others. I considered going to the medical tent, but I didn’t think I was feeling that bad. Just tired and my legs hurt a great deal. I really just needed to get food, drink, and sit in a chair a spell. Mike Matney finds me and I tell him what happened. I then see Tamara and relay similar info. Then I go and grab some chow, thanking all the nice volunteers I saw there. I saw Kevin Kendro just before that and he told me the good news of qualifying for the 70.3 Championships. Now after I have food, I don’t dare sit on the ground as I’m afraid I won’t get back up. So, I find a chair by a table and this suits me just fine. Eventually Mike joins me too and we discuss the race. Then go and get a massage. It may or may not help but I thought I should give it a try. Despite some pain, it does seem to feel good, but I know it will be several days later to recover from this. After this, I think I got to see Lisa finish and said my congrats. I also met with Kip who had his award in hand for finishing first in Master Clydesdales. Then it was at last time to pack my gear, head back to the car for the trip home, and close the book on this year’s Eagleman event.

Overall, I was very pleased with my transition times and my dismount performance heading into T2. I was okay with my swim, but I obviously needed a bit more of something as my arm got tired too quickly. I should’ve probably stayed back a bit more as well. Now while the bike didn’t really give me too many problems and I finished with a time only about 30sec slower that last year, a lesson-learned here is to drop speed and increase cadence if my run training has suffered prior to the race. I should’ve done this when the headwind started and not fought it quite as much. It would’ve been the smart thing to do rather than fretting about going slower than last year which I was thinking about during the headwind portion and not thinking about the rest of the race. I think this would’ve really have saved my legs from the disaster that occurred. Overall, though, I finished only 5 minutes more than last year. Shows what practicing transitions can do to make up time.

After this you may ask if I’d do it again. You betcha! It’s a great race, close, and I really do like the flat course. I just wasn’t smart wrt the lack of run training and needed to compensate my bike portion so my legs would be saved for the run. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but this old dog certainly learned his lesson.

Well that’s about it tri race fans for Eagleman 2009. Gotta go recover this week and get my legs back for the next event – Hagerstown Sprint July 26. Until then, train safe and good luck in your season.

“Race Report” Dave

Back in November 2008, like many of you, I received an email from Celleste Callahan, USAT Duathlon Liason to USAT Board and a Team USA Triathlon/Duathlon, calling on USAT triathletes to “Get out and Du it!”.  The short of the matter was that duathlon participant numbers appeared to be pretty low and support was waning.  Only 200 folks came to the Nationals last year.  In essense, this was a plea to come save the sport by sending a message that folks are indeed interested or could get interested.  Since it was in Richmond, it was fairly close only being about 3 hours away.  So, I looked over the dates and entry fees.  This event takes place in late April and this year, it was to be April 26.  Actually, it was a whole duathlon festival with an off-road event on Saturday and the on-road even on Sunday.  In addition, there was a junior event as well as a novice or sport event for those who wanted the experience but not the distance.  Well, April is usually a good running month not getting too warm and also still a bit chilly for swimming (though you’ll note I later did sign up for a sprint tri with a lake swim the week prior).  The course was akin to an Olympic distance tri – 10K run, 38K bike (23+ miles), and 5K run.  The entry fee was only $65 which seemed like a pretty good deal in and of itself.  To sweeten the deal even more, here’s all the shwag (goodies) – backpack with USAT Du Nationals lable, running hat from USAT, technical T with Du Nationals, after race tailgate party, and nice glasses (i.e. beer) for finishers.  For that entry fee, it doesn’t get much better than that!  So, I thought, when am I ever going to compete in a National Championship?  So why not?  And with that, I completed my entry form with registration fee for my first duathlon.

Now again, come January with my severe vertigo illness, I was not sure if I could compete in this event I had signed up for two months prior.  Things eventually worked okay if you read my last race report on competing the first tri of the season the week prior.  But, during the week prior coming up to the event, I felt my training had still been below standard and so I decided the goal was to finish and enjoy the moment.  With this in mind, I headed down the day prior to pick up my packet and scope out the course.

Now, those of you who remember this weekend will know that Summer arrived early again this year as the temperature climbed into the mid 90s on Saturday with a few spotty reports of low 100s in Virginia.  And unfortunately, the temperatures were forecast to be as high on Sunday during race day.  Gosh, shades of last year’s Eagleman!  At least the distances were less and I’d be done in under 3 hours rather than 6.  Plus the humidity didn’t seem to be up there.  Still, heat is heat when you’re running.  At least with biking you generate your own breeze.  So, I packed the hydration belt and the De Soto cooling material jersey I wore at Eagleman last year.  I probably should’ve packed the cooling bandana I had as well as the helmet cooling pad as well.  But, like I said, we weren’t going to be out there as long.

In addition to myself answering the call to support this event, over 1000 others did as well!  Incredible considering the 200 turnout last year.  So, the race director and committee from Sportsbackers had to work out some sort of system different than what we’re used to in tris so that 1) there weren’t a whole lot of folks on the bike course at any one time and 2) folks in later waves weren’t standing around for too long.  What they came up with turned out to be pretty successful in my opinion and I actually think tris should work this way as well.  As there were waves starting just before 8 AM and continuing until 11:30, they had an open and rolling transition area.  This meant that instead of closing transition at a certain time, they kept it open the entire time.  This allowed the later folks to arrive later during the morning and kept the transition area relatively clear for the folks actually racing.  A “rolling” transition meant that they would put folks who are in the early waves at one end of the transition area and rack folks who raced later and later continually towards the other end of the transition area.  They also asked folks to rack no more than 90 minutes before the start of their wave.  So, you never had a completely full transition area as people would remove gear soon after they were done and replaced by the next waves of folks’ gear.  In addition, spots in transition were numbered, so no real advantage getting there early to get a good spot.  As I stated, this worked exceptionally well.

Okay, got to the expo and packet pickup on Saturday just after noon.  Pretty easy process and a bit different wrt race numbers.  They handed you a sheet with your number marked for different areas, all having sticky backing.  There were two running numbers, one for your back and the other for your front.  Since there were no holes for a race belt, I debated on this for a bit and decided to just stick the numbers on my shirt as indicated.  This eliminated the need for a race belt in transition, which I thought was a good thing.  There was also a small race number for your bike that wrapped around your seat tube and this worked much better than the top tube numbers I normally get.  Got most of my shwag after that and I was set.  I was just in time to hear the pre-race meeting and course description by the race director.  But, I didn’t really learn too much per se as I had viewed the video of the course online.  However, I did find out that the start was up on the hill from us which I didn’t know and also a few other tidbits about course conditions.  One that was interesting was putting mats over the bridge expansion joints which apparently caused some issues last year.  During the meeting, we also got to watch the finishers come in for the off-road event.  I really felt for them as it was 93 outside at the time.

With not much more to see at the expo (I was disappointed in this being a National Championship BTW), I decided to see if I could drive the bike course.  I wanted to ride it but I didn’t want the heat to wear me out for the next day.  So, I attempted to follow the directions best I could.  Unfortunately, parts of the course were already closed off to traffic, but I still got the idea pretty much.  One area I was a bit unsure about was this out and back section.  Rolling with lots of curves and a turnaround point.  But, nothing really looked too bad.  So, armed with this preview, I headed back to my hotel to put numbers on my bike, prepare for the next day, and get out of the heat to rest up.

Race morning arrives and since I’m in the 8:10 AM starting wave, I need to be at transition around 6:30.  I’m not too far away, so I got up around 5 with the thought of leaving around 6.  I didn’t have my usual breakfast but I still managed to have a nice carb drink, yogurt, and granola for breakfast.  Plus coffee.  Wouldn’t do without that .  Weather Channel says it’s already 76 when I leave the door at 6 and forecast a high of 96!  Whew!  There were many…um, mature folks like myself in the early waves who thought at that point that there were advantages to being a bit older sometimes.

Unlike other events with close parking for transition, this is in the city and we’re to park on the street about two blocks over from transition.  At first, I really didn’t care for this as I don’t particularly like hauling gear great distances.  But, I easily found something that worked and decided this wasn’t too bad after all.  Still don’t like hauling my stuff too far, though.

Find my numbered spot and arranged my gear.  Decided to go with a hydration belt during the first 10K run as it was already quite warm, though I still debated this later and actually something quite amusing happened later because of this decision.  Hmm, my place just didn’t look like much after I was done.  Thought I was missing something.  Oh yeah, swim stuff/wetsuit.  It was quite a bit different not having to deal with those and my little area really did look quite incomplete.  After I was done, another nice feature was a bag dropout place.  So we didn’t have bags competing for space in transition either.  Just the essentials for racing.  You could always get your bag as they gave you tag with your number on that sheet to place on your bag. 

Okay, I’m pretty much ready to go and warmed up by jogging up to the start and back a few times.  Met Vicki Bate who was in the women’s wave after my wave of the men.  Wished each other luck and I stretched and relaxed before the start.  We’re called into the start chute, all wishing each other well, and then the starter counts down…1 min, 30 sec, GO! (Air horn blast!).  I get going but I’m also really watching this big gaggle of guys take off out ahead of me.  I wave goodbye and sit back a bit to get into my own pace.

Unlike Rumpass in Bumpass, I had no illusions here.  In order to be a top finisher, I would have to run around a high 6 or low 7 pace for both runs and be above 20mph for the bike.  So, I thought a sub-9 pace would be okay for this first 10K, probably 18-20 mph for the bike, and pour whatever I had left intot the 5K.  The first part is a pretty big downhill, which I don’t remember when I get to the bike.  Then we’re going along old part of Richmond with cobblestones!  Didn’t appreciate that but maneuver around them.  As I’m crossing a bridge, I see guys out ahead of me and maintain my pace.  But, as I get into the second mile of the 10K, a few guys are already having problems up one of the hills.  As I start to pass these folks, I see the mid-pack guys ahead of me.  Chase mentality starts to set in and I set about to pick these guys off one by one.  By mile 3, I’ve picked off quite a few but still a few more to pick off.  At mile 4 I glance at my watch.  It says 30:something.  Oh, wow!  I’m at a sub-8 pace!  Since I didn’t feel uncomfortable here, I decided to continue with this pace.  And I had my sights set on this one guy ahead of me who seemed to be maintaining the same pace.  But, after mile 5, I was able to pick him off as well.  Coming up to transition, we’re going up a hill and I’m able to get ahead of a couple more.  And feeling pretty good about all this as well as I head into T1.

10K run time 47:04, 7:35 pace

In T1 I had some small problems getting my helmet and shoes on, but no big problems.  Already had socks on so that wasn’t a factor either.  So, I started to head out.  BUT, just before I did, something jiggled around my mid section – my hydration belt!  Normally, this would not be there in a tri as we don’t have these on the swim.  So, I quickly turned around and dropped the belt off at my place which wasn’t too far away.  So, that chewed up my time in transition.  Stil kinda funny though.

T1 1:49

The first part of the bike was a short uphill to the run start area.  Not too difficult and then as I crested the top, I’m looking down this steep downhill that I should’ve remembered from the run.  It’s kinda like looking down on a roller coaster ride.  I first think “Alright!  Screaming downhill!”  But, as I start down it, I think “AAAAAAHHH!” as excitement turns to fear.  The road is pretty uneven with manhole and pipe covers in it to dodge.  I resist the urge to brake and hold on for dear life as my bike hits slight bumps and uneven pavement here and there while zooming downward!  Fortunately, it smooths out and I can confidently hammer the rest of the way in the 53 x 11.  But, not for long as the first turn comes up.  I decide that for a bit more control, I’ll feather my back brake for just a bit on this hill during the next 2 loops.  As I just alluded to, the course is 3 loops of 7+ miles for a bit over 23 total.  And it turned out to be fairly technical with many sharp turns, some uphills, the steep downhill, and lesser ones.  Went over two bridges, one of those twice each loop.  I was doing okay but didn’t feel overly strong on the bike today.  I did pass folks but I had a good number of fast folks pass me as well.  The road surface also wasn’t the best and the bumps were a bit jarring here and there.  Splashed my aero hydration bottle a few times as well, even with the sponge.  Never could get into a rhythm as there really were no long stretches.  As I headed into transition, I started getting out of my shoes and almost took out myself and some spectators!  I was on the right so I wouldn’t hinder anyone but drifted a bit too far over at first and scared a few folks watching the race from the curb.  Oops.  Got back and successfully got out of shoes for another nice dismount.  Running into T2.

Bike 1:15:56  18.65 mph avg

T2 was uneventful and pretty normal now for me.  Still need to improve though.

T2 1:03

Now into the 5K and the heat is on a bit more.  Legs are a bit like jelly too and having a difficult time getting moving.  Fortunately, the first part is all downhill and I need it to keep my legs moving.  This course covers some of the last part of the 10K which is a nice view of the canal in downtown Richmond.  There are other runners here, a few my age but more are the wave ahead.  I pass a few thinking “Gosh, I hope I can still do this at that age!”.  By the mile 2 marker, the run and heat are taking a toll on me even though we’re in the shade.  I’m moving progressively slower.  And the last part of the run is uphill.  Geez, didn’t I leave this party earlier?  But, I trudge on, even smiling for the camera during the last leg.  I put on a good show at the finish and sprint in hearing my name announced over the loudspeaker!  My first du is done!

Now, the time for the 5K I get at the results is just not right and everyone is saying the same thing about this that the run wasn’t really 5K.  I can believe this because my time says 20:20.  No way for me.  That’s a sub-7 pace and I know what that feels like.  There was no way.  Kevin Clark, a fellow triathlete from Frederick, said someone else who had a Garmin on measured it was on 2.5 miles.  That I can believe and that’s an 8:08 pace for me.

Final time 2:26:11.

M 50-54 AG 29/55, 410/886 total finisher in AG categories.

There were nice cool towels afterwards and I set a spell in the medical tent near the finish, mostly just to get some much needed fluids and stay out of the sun.  I’m actually not doing really bad as some folks who are there are.  So, after a bit, I decide I’m just taking up space for folks that really need it and saunter over to the food and drink area.  Some good food afterwards and thank goodness lots of gatorade.  I saw Vicki finish and then see her making her way over and greet her while letting her know about the food and drink.  We meet Kevin C in a bit afterwards and discuss the last run.  While I had no illusions of making it to Worlds, Kevin misses it by a few places.  The first 16 in each AG goes.  Lucas McCollum makes it placing 5^th overall and 3^rd in his AG.  He deserves it to after that kind of performance in the afternoon heat.  Oh well, perhaps another year. Hey, I still got all the good “shwag” plus each finisher got that nice beer/drink glass.  Cool.

Since I was definitely not getting an award here and it was only noonish with awards not until 2:30, decided to pack up and get going for the 3 hour drive home.

Overall, a good experience.  Recommend that next year, you “Do the Du” too!

Next up – Frederick Half Marathon May 3.

First up for me was Setup Events’ “Rumpass in Bumpass” Sprint distance triathlon held Sunday April 19.  There was also an Olympic distance event held the day prior making for a full triathlon festival weekend.  The events took place at the Lake Anna Beach and Marina on the southeastern corner of Lake Anna, which is about 2 1/2 hours south of Frederick and not too far north from Richmond VA.  The cute name of this event is derived from the nearby town of Bumpass.  The early date for this event corresponds to Setup’s Kinetic Half/Sprint weekend of last year.  That triathlon weekend has been moved to May and these events have replaced them as supposedly, this is on the warmer portion of the lake.  In addition, the move might also have taken place because of unusual warm weather for last year’s Half which a lot folks hadn’t had the chance to train in due to last year’s chilly weather before that one as well.

Now, as many of you may recall, I was hit with an inner ear infection that threw my balance completely off for a couple of months.  So, I had not signed up for this one very early because I was unsure whether I could even compete in the events I had signed up early for.  But, by March, I was pretty much back on my training schedule.  And so, I realized that with my first event being a duathlon and the next a half marathon, that I didn’t have any tris lined up before the Eagleman 70.3 event in early June to use as practice and test on what I needed to work on prior.  I also wasn’t sure whether I’d get any open water experience as well.  So, even though I had missed an early signup date, I decided to pay a bit more and test my 2009 tri skills with the “Rumpass in Bumpass” sprint tri.

If you go back to 2008 Kinetic Sprint report I filed, you’ll read that the weather did not cooperate this time last year.  Except for the first part of the swim, it was chilly and rained/poured the entire rest of the event (go figure).  The transition area went to mud, my stuff got soaked, no one could really enjoy the after race festivities, and they cancelled the awards ceremony since it was just coming down too hard.  So, I was a bit anxious when I remembered that the weather can still be downright nasty this time of year.  Heck, the week and a half prior, it snowed here!

But, as it turned out, the exact opposite occurred: partly cloudy skies with sunshine, calm to light winds, pleasant humidity, temps in the 60s warming to the low 70s, and no rain!  Nearly ideal racing conditions!  Hopefully, this is a good omen of things to come for the rest of the season.  I went from rain, to heat, to rain in my first 3 events last year.  I was a bit weathered out by August.

For those that don’t know, these events are late starters – 10 AM.  So, if you want, you can drive down and stay in either Thornburg or Fredericksburg and sleep in a bit.  Or you can do like I did: save yourself the hotel with driving down that morning.  I did have to get up around 4 to do so, but that’s near my normal time for work each day.  So, after eating my normal pre race breakfast of whole wheat bagel, peanut butter, and raspberries with a protein drink and coffee, I headed on down the road so I could get to the event site with time to spare.

Upon arrival, there were folks directing me to the parking area which was a short walk to the event site.  That’s always welcome.  Been to events which don’t have nearby parking and it’s quite a walk back to the car if you forget something.  And I always do.  I was a bit early as body marking and packet pickup/sign-in weren’t set up yet.  So, took this opportunity to check out the transition area and the lake.  It was dead calm on the lake which was also welcome.  No chop, so wind waves wouldn’t be a problem.  Transition area was metal racks and numbered for six per rack, alternating bikes.  There wasn’t an assignment within the individual racks, though.  So first come, first serve on your rack.

Packet pickup opened and I got checked in.  Then back to the car to put numbers on my helmet and bike and grab all my gear.  I had the choice on my rack as no one else had arrived yet and angled the bike closer to the “bike out” part of transition.  Now, at last year’s Kinetic, I forgot to count the rows from the swim in and bike in parts of the transition area and couldn’t find my gear, wasting valuable transition time.  I haven’t forgotten that lesson since and proceeded to jog in from both sections, counting the rows and looking at how my gear looked from each angle.  So, 4 rows from bike in and lucky 13 from the swim in.  I found at an event last year that I actually like a longer run out.  Though it means a longer T2, it helps get my legs going for the run portion.

I forgot a couple of items that were loose in my car and took this opportunity to jog back and get them.  In addition to a bit of a warmup, I was testing my left knee which has always been a bit weak and unfortunately giving me some problems during the last several days.  Even had a small bruise on it for some reason.  But, with my brace things felt fine and ready to go.  Jogged back.

After body marking and picking up my time chip, met club member Kip Jawish.  He had done the Olympic the day prior and had also decided to do the Sprint today.  I admired his enthusiasm!  After talking for a bit and wishing each other luck, we went back to the business at hand.

Transition wasn’t going to close until 9:45, so I took the time to do a short warm up swim in the Lake.  I do recommend doing this if you have the opportunity.  A good number of events won’t let you for various reasons, but it’s good to test the waters, so to speak.  The water temp was reportedly 62 and I wanted to see whether it would affect me like last year.  For some folks, cold water in your ear can cause momentary dizziness when you come out of the water.  I brought ear plugs this year in case this happened after the test swim.  Despite the sunshine and warm temps we had for a few days previously, the water was still quite chilly on my hands, feet, and face.  BRRR.  But, fairly toasty in the wetsuit.  Went out to the first buoy and back and didn’t really have a problem with the cold per se.  My arms also weren’t having problems, so the wetsuit seemed to be on correctly.  Getting out of the water, though, the dizziness came on a bit and I found myself a bit unsteady.  So earplugs would have to be used.  I also tested my wetsuit zipper and getting that undone.  Last year, I had two problems getting that undone and had to have folks behind me help.  No problem in the test run though.

After the National Anthem and some last minute instructions by race director Greg Hawkins, it’s time to get going on this event.  I’m in the 3rd wave which starts 6 min after the first one.  The course is .45 miles (750m), going around this small peninsula, and is rectangular, meaning you start at one corner, round the next corner on the way out, complete the side, head back on the return top portion, and come to shore to complete the side.  This is an in-water start and I decide to move closer to the front.  Count down proceeds, there’s a “GO!”, and we’re off!  Well, the lake is pretty clear which is a nice surprise and I try to draft as much as possible.  There are enough bubbles in front of me that I thought I was doing okay with this during the race.  However, a couple of problems.  As this is a Sprint, there are a good number of folks who are stopping quite often and breast stroking.  So, even when I do catch feet, I often have to stop when they breast stroke to sight.  The other is that like last year’s Kinetic, I go to breathing every stroke early.  This is a mistake and I should’ve saved that for later in the swim.  I’m bumping into a good number of folks but seemingly staying with my wave.  Surprisingly, I even catch some of the first wave.  But again, this is a Sprint distance with all sorts of ability levels.  I didn’t really have any problem sighting but the mistake of breathing to one side pulls me to the right more and I’m sighting a lot more than I should be to correct.  I’m also wearing myself out quicker than I should be and see a few folks pass who were behind.  Can’t do this at Eagleman.  But, I finally round the last corner, standing up near shore, and being helped out by a couple of volunteers.

Swim time 16:36, 2:01/100 yard pace

Okay, into T1.  No problem with the zipper, though the picture of me emerging from the swim will still have me grappling for the zip cord in the back.  Earplugs worked – no dizziness.  Lucky 13 rows and I’m at my gear.  Based on the original weather forecast, I had brought a cycling vest to help keep me warm.  But, no need for it as the sun was out and it was getting warm.  I’ve gotten a lot better over the last couple of years since Columbia 2007 (T1 took 6 min then) and out of my wetsuit fairly quickly.  Had a bit of a problem getting my sunglasses and sweatband untangled, but then fairly quickly got into shoes and I’m out running out of transition to the mount area which is a bit aways down a hill.  A slight problem mounting my bike (I tried to mount from the opposite side for some strange reason) and I’m off on the 12 mile bike course.

T1 time 2:14

The bike is really my second strongest discipline and what I don’t do in the swim, I make up for in the bike.  Today was no exception.  This was a nice, lightly rolling course with no major hills on any part.  Think there was one where I had to go to the smaller front chainring, but I didn’t need to use that too much and was hammering as much as I could during the course.  With a Sprint, there are always people who don’t know to stay right unless passing and this was no exception as I nicely told people to move over or warn them I was on their left.  Fortunately, no one really blocked me too much and I was able to push pretty consistently.  A few folks passed me which I expect, but not too many.  I passed far more people than got passed by.  Unexpectedly, both calves cramp up on me.  I take some Clif Blocks and gulps from my drink while at the same time trying to get rid of the cramps.  This seems to work after a while and they don’t bother me again.  Now, this one guy who was 60 passed me early.  But, I came up behind later about half way and passed him on a slight uphill.  Then after a downhill, his momentum carries him up enough to pass me again.  This actually goes on for the rest of the race and I go to pass again and ask if we’re just going to keep doing this.  He laughs and encourages me by saying I’m doing great and I yell back that he is too.  On the second to last turn, I take it a bit wide watching out for cars and another cyclist.  He cuts to the inside and overtakes me for the last time.  Now, it’s near the dismount area and I start trying to get out of my shoes while on the bike.  I started to do this last year fairly successfully.  But, I make a mistake here and try to get out of them on a slight hill, completely losing much of my forward momentum, allowing the woman I had just passed to pass me.  I realize what’s happening and pedal to the crest where I successfully complete this maneuver.  I lose both shoe inserts in the process but continue on (I find them later).  As I’m balancing on one pedal to the dismount area, the guy in front of me doesn’t complete his dismount properly, falls, and crashes right after the dismount.  I wince as I see this happen and I feel sorry for him but there are folks quickly in to help.  I hit the ground jogging into T2.

Bike time 36:17, 19.84 mph average

Into T2.  I slip on my knee brace without problem and get into socks. I normally don’t do socks for a 5K, but decided I didn’t want to chance a blister today.  Have a little problem with the one sock but fix that and quickly get into my shoes.  Grab my race number belt and hat and jog out of the transition zone to the run course.  No water/drink belt on a 5K.

T2 time 1:20

The 5K run course is an out and back with the early and late parts being a small trail run through some woods.  Actually, this could be a bit hazardous to folks as there are roots all along the way.  The rest of the course is rolling terrain along a road.  No significant hills on the course either.  I’m moving smartly along and feeling pretty good with no problem in my knee, though I’m breathing rather hard for me I thought.  But, I realized after a while that I wasn’t that uncomfortable doing this and continued to press at this level.  I passed many more folks on the run with only a couple that I can remember passing me.  Only one water stop at the halfway point, but I only take a quick gulp and pour the rest on my head/back to cool down.  Press on.  After the last small hill, I’m now feeling the effects of the pace I’ve set and can feel myself fading.  Plus, I’m starting to pant which is never good.  Done with the last hill and only have to navigate the roots on the trail.  After that, it’s mostly downhill to the finish and I’m able to do a last sprint for the crowd.  Time to get some after race food!

Run time: 23:11, 7:29 per mile pace

Overall time 1:19:36.  Final place 101 out of 414 total finishers, 89 out of 267 men.

After I saw my preliminary place and time, I felt a little bit disappointed.  I had put effort into the swim and thought I was doing okay considering the swim caps I was seeing around me.  I had also thought I was doing better on the bike and the run felt strong even with the fade at the end.  But, that feeling quickly disappears as I see that I’ve apparently taken 2nd out of 13 in my new age group this year, M 50-54.  Oh what a feeling!  And this is confirmed during the awards ceremony as I receive a nice big glass mug as an AG award and get my picture taken along with one of the other top 3 M50-54 finishers.  I’ll be sure to use it for big glasses of be… um, water during the summer.  

Final AG stats:

Place  Bib Age NAME                          CITY/STATE               DQ    Rank SWIM  Rank T1   Rank  BIKE   Rank  T2    Rank RUN  PENALTY    TIME DQ

2.       327  50 DAVID MILLER               MIDDLETOWN MD                 3    16:36    3     2:14    3    36:17     2     1:20    1    23:11                  1:19:36  

Overall, I was pleased with Setup’s conduct of the race and course selection.  Everything seemed to be organized pretty well and there were enough pleasant volunteers on hand to help everyone out.  Plus, I find practical awards more useful than medals.  Now, the after race food was pizza, snack mix, Mike & Ike candy, bananas, and oranges.  Drink was water, ice tea, and Coke (diet/regular).  This was all okay and I did appreciate it.  But, I usually can’t stomach pizza right after such an event and I do like to munch on bagels which are normally on hand.  Plus an electrolyte drink, which was missing here as well.  There were no shower/changing facilities that I saw, so be aware of that if you’re going to do this event next year.  No other extras here like a massage tent as well.  That’s okay too as I only used it once in the past.

So, with some lessons learned to carry me through the next several weeks before Eagleman and my award in hand, I head to the car for the trip home and bring to a close my first (and hopefully not the last) successful event of the season on this pleasant Spring day. 

Next up – Duathlon Nationals in Richmond VA on April 26

Until next time…

Race Report: Brierman Sprint Triathlon, October 12, 2008

Format: .45mile/21mile/4.9mile

The last race of the season – Hoorah! After much hemming and hawing about registering for the race, I signed up last Monday. I waited until the very last minute before I had the pay the extra, extra late fee. I was concerned about the water temp, the air temp, and the degree of difficulty for the bike and run course. However, Coach signed up (this being his first ever) and so did fellow club members, Dave Miller and Mike Matney. Being in good company, I decided to join the fun.

Sunday am came early as it always does for race day. After making sure our babysitter was on board at 6am, we headed over to the course. What a pleasure having to race so close to home. Since we did packet pick up Sat and transition spots were assigned, we didn’t have to get there any earlier. Once we were all set up, wetsuits on, we waited on the beach area for our start. The sun was coming up and I’d say we started out in the mid 50 degree temps. The guys headed out promptly at 8am, I was staged for 8:05.

The water temp was recorded at 66.5 degrees and it felt it. I had a layer of Vaseline on my arms and feet, just as a little insulation. And then we were off. The swim was pretty straightforward. I am happy to report I had no wet suit issues this time around. After the second turn, I met a few obstacles, but taking a moment to stay calm and restart slowly, helped me keep it together. The sun was providing a strong glare to the finish. Thankfully, the Piranha Sport inflatable archway really stood out.

There was much deliberation on the beach before the start – what do you put on for the bike? By midway of the ride, you will have warmed up, but you were going to start cold. Turns out, I got to transition not feeling too bad and decided to just go with my sprint suit and socks, nothing extra. It was a little chilly, but by the end, I was glad for my decision. The course was pretty hilly. With Half Liters and the Sprint men already on the course, it was hard to tell where you were in the placement. I rode back & forth with this guy, which was fun. I’d leave him on every descent, he’d pick me back up and drop me on all the climbs. This went on for the whole race, neither of us being able to shake the other.

Back into transition, I racked and headed out for this pretty demanding out and back run. I learned at about mile one I was in the lead, but had no idea by how much. The first hill wasn’t so bad, the downhill let you pick up speed. Here was my first sighting of Coach since the beach. He and another guy were running 1 & 2. I hit the turn around feeling pretty good. I saw some women approaching, but again, I had no way of knowing if they were Half Liters or Sprinters. So I had to step on the gas, which was getting progressively harder as I started back up the hill. That was tough and I was really digging deep not to get caught and to also not completely run out of steam. Finally, the top and a 1mile downhill finish. I stayed in the lead and finished 1^st for the women at 2:07, 8^th overall. Catching up with Coach at the finish line, I learned that he got 2^nd for the men! Woohoo! Hmmm…If Coach stays with the tri thing, I may be out of a coach and will be lucky to keep him as Mechanic. And since he raced today, I had no support crew to take pictures!

At the awards ceremony, another participant happened to be from the Frederick News Post. Catching that we were a couple, he asked us a few questions and posted this nice little article about us. During the post race, we caught up with Mike and Dave. Both it seemed were having good days. Dave unfortunately had a mechanical that set him back, but still raced strong. Mike got 2^nd in his age group.

Here’s how we celebrated the beginning to our off season.

Now I had considered not doing this event as the weather in October can be quite challenging and downright nasty.  I occasionally do the Seagull Century ride this time of the year and I have seen where folks are in tights, gloves, rain gear, hoods, etc.   Plus, winds can be a problem as well.  And after previewing the bike course a couple of months ago, I was having serious second thoughts.  But, the event was 15 min away and the field was fairly small.  What the hey!  I could also practice on the course beforehand, something I don’t normally get to do.

During packet pickup the day prior to the event, I went to the First Timers meeting to gleam any intel.  I had thought there would be more people like myself but nearly all raised their hands when asked if this was their first time.  Oh boy!  Were they all in for a treat!  Anyway, I found that there would be no swimming to warm up which I was dismayed about and that there would be a “No Pedal” zone after coming back into the park.  With good reason as the winding curve back into the park was around a 12% grade and one could really overshoot or crash if not careful here.  I also found out that they called the climb on 17 going to Wolfsville “The Big Bad Wolf” which I thought was aptly named.  I heard all about that from the folks who had to do it twice in the Half-Lite.  After the meeting, I scoped out the transition area.  Then picked up Mike Matney and drove the course to see what holes in the road there were that had been discussed at the meeting.  I did see them and glad they marked those. 

Back at home – number on bike, helmet, race belt, pack, fill bottles, etc.  Usual routine.  Pretty used to it now.  But, the weather was going to be chilly – 50 to start.  So I packed some arm warmers and a wind vest.  I used the vest at Kinetic in the spring and it kept my core dry.  Have to see about the warmers. 

Now, if you remember, I had a DNF at North East due to a problem with one of my back wheels.  Turns out there were two problems and both looked like they had been fixed.  So, I again broke the cardinal rule of “no different equipment on race day” and put this wheel on armed with my 12-27 cassette and triple chainring for “The Big Bad Wolf”.  As it turns out, this may not have been that bad a decision, but I don’t want to spoil anything just yet.

Race day morning.  It is very dark, no moon, and chilly – 48 degrees.  BRRRRR!  Had my usual whole wheat bagel, almond butter, and raspberry sandwich, protein shake and the ever important coffee to get me going.  Put on sweats and wake Mike up so we get going over the mountain to the race. 

Arrive to find that there are a lot of anxious folks here as the parking area is actually getting a bit crowded.  As with Columbia, there are only flashlights seen this time of morning with headlights for the body markers down by transition.  Get and put on my timing chip, then body marked.  Back to the car to grab all the stuff.

Okay, I’m pumping up my tires back at the car and the back wheel doesn’t spin.  I’m thinking “oh no”.  But, I just had to open the brake up a bit and I was fine.  Have to get that adjusted.  Everything else seems to be okay here.  Little do I suspect.

Dawn is approaching as I’m putting my stuff together in transition.  The racks are metal and numbered so you don’t have a choice where you go.  I’m near the swim in/run out side and think this is okay as it’ll allow my legs to get warmed up a bit for both the bike and the run.  There was adequate space for bikes but it was a bit cramped.  I decided after a while when the sun was coming up that I would forgo the arm warmers but take the time to put on the vest.  It would still be in the 50s during the bike with no real sun as we were on the west side of the mountain for the first part of the bike.  This turned out to be a good decision as I was more than warmed up coming out of T1 though wet from the swim.

3 swim waves here and the Half Lite folks started off a half hour before the first Sprint so they could get their 2 laps around an inverted triangular course.  This worked well, but a half hour standing around the wetsuit is a fairly long time with no warmup allowed.  The second wave was all Sprint men and the last wave was all Sprint women.  As we come down to the beach to get goggles prepared, we’re standing in the sand and it is COLD!  Believe it or not, it was warmer walking into the water!  This was supposed to be a beach start but they changed it to a wade instead, which was okay by me.  The water is very calm all things considered and there is very little wind.  Very peaceful setting and nice for opern water swimming.  Now we’re waiting until the last minute is counted down….Waiting….and the word “GO!” is shouted and we’re off on this inaugural event!

SWIM:  Thank goodness, no fog here.  So sighting at first isn’t a problem.  I actually feel like I’m doing okay, but the water is 66 and a bit chilly even in the wetsuit.  Plus it’s always feels cold on your face at first until you get warmed up.  Well, as I’m sighting around, I see that I’m about mid pack and my sighting goes pretty well this race.  I only really remember pausing just once this time.  I rounded the first buoy without a problem but then I remember going a bit left to the next one.  Not by too much though and I round the second buoy without problems.  The water is pleasantly pretty clear for once and I can see feet here and there which I try to stay behind when I can.  Problem is that there are a lot of folks without sighting experience and they stop in front of me quite often.  On the last leg back, the sun has come out and sighting is a bit of a problem.  But, thanks to Piranha, they put a big inflatable arch for the swim exit and this helped sighting to the finish tremendously.  And I’m still mid pack for once which was a confidence builder.  I did have problems staying relaxed and found myself only breathing to one side more often than not.  Something to continue to work on.  So I see the bottom appear and after I touch, stand up jogging out of the water.   Then shades of Kinetic – can’t pull my wetsuit zipper down.  I ask for help from a guy behind and he graciously gets me unstuck, for which I thank him for very much.  I gotta have that checked.  Second time that’s happened, different suit.

Though I thought I did a bit better here, swim time is pretty normal for me – 15:31 for the .45 mile or 1:58/100 yards.  48th out of 171 competitors.

T1 goes okay without too much incident.  I take a little more time getting into my vest and probably too a bit too much getting out of the suit and into shoes.  Plus I put on a brace for my left knee for support.  But, rather that then forget something.  Jogging through transition was a bit cramped and had to avoid folks.  Clip in at the mount area and I’m off on this challenging bike course.

T1 time 2:14

BIKE  The first challenge is the short but steep 12% hill out of the park.  But before that, I’m having some sort of problem getting out of my low chainring.  Won’t shift up.  But that finally works itself out and I’m able to shift okay again, just in time to go back down to it for this hill.  There’s a short descent and then a slight hill coming up to the turn on Route 40.  Aaaah – what a rush!  A flying downhill to Crystal Falls road.  I pass a few people ahead on this which gives me a bit of confidence.  This is somewhat short-lived as they pass me as we turn onto Crystal Falls.  But, I’m keeping folks in sight somewhat.  Come up behind one guy and he’s on the left.  I yell “On your left” but he doesn’t move.  Now I really yell and he finally moves over but sounded like he might’ve yelled something angrily back.  But I didn’t really catch it and just ignored him as I went by.  Well, he probably doesn’t know the no blocking rule or the fact that you’re not supposed to pass on the right.  Warned one person about drafting too, but I didn’t seem much of that due to other reasons.  Didn’t see any refs the whole time, BTW.

As with my practice rides, I’m doing okay and moving a little bit better with my aero helmet and the lighter wheel in the back.  There aren’t really any surprises here, even with the chill in the air.  The vest was a good decision and it’s keeping me comfortable, even though I am near or above lactate threshold sometimes.

Unfortunately, disaster strikes the second time this season 8 miles into the course.  I’m coming up to a second short steep climb and down shift to the small chainring.  The shift doesn’t go smoothly and it appears to bunch up.  Well, I’m on a hill and I don’t need to fall, so I do get myself unclipped and think backpedaling may work this out.  It seems to but then the chain tension releases and I think that it’s fallen off.   If only that had been the case.  I move to the side and see the chain dragging – it’s broken!  I’m really looking at it in disbelief as I walk my bike over to a level drive.  Well, I’ve seen Mike use the chain tool a couple of times and think that maybe I can do this.  At first, I seem to be getting it.  But, after many, many minutes of trying, I’m really not getting anywhere.  A few folks stop to ask if I’m okay and I wave them by thinking that I can do this.  Many cyclists go by and it’s funny to hear the grunting and voices of dismay climbing that hill.  Then a siren from the fire station I passed by earlier goes off and an ambulence goes by.  I think “Oh no, someone’s had an accident”.  As it turns out, this kinda worked in my favor.  Not too long afterwards, a pickup pulls up offering to take me to the fire station where the bike mechanic is.  They were carrying the bike of the guy that crashed.  Two broken spokes.  I now consider myself very lucky.  I first think no, but then the possibility of DNF hits me and I’m like “yes, please!”  Shame this didn’t happen a bit earlier, well not for the crashed cyclist I mean.  We drive a mile or so down the road and the mechanic fixes me up in no time flat.  But, the damage is done.  My watch says 1:47.  If everything had gone okay, I would’ve been on the run now.  No way I can hope to place today.  But, now I’m out to finish and not come in last.  So I set off once again, unfortunately covering some ground I had already. 

The Big Bad Wolf climb appears and I use my 30-27 for all its worth.  I actually passed a few folks here but these were probably the Half Lite folks on their second lap.  The one guy I bet was wishing for a triple at that point.  The hill is proving again to be difficult as expected but I’m making my way up it steadily only having to get out of the saddle a few times.  After I top the crest, the rest is all gravy as far as I’m concerned.  The one downhill on Pleasant Walk is a welcome rush of 46 mph!   On these last rollers, I pass folks who I think are Sprint folks which helps my disposition but I know I’m still way behind.  Last hill to the park, clear behind, and I zoom through the entrance!  Go down the steep hill, onto the flat, get out of my shoes, and smoothly dismount on my one pedal.  Well, not so smoothly as one of my shoes comes loose.  I yell back to the nice volunteers to just save it and give them my number.  No real time to stop as I run into T2.

Official time - 2:10:22 (bike computer time, 1:31:34 but takes into account extra mileage)  169th out of 171.  Ugh.

T2 Mike Matney has finished (no shock here) and worriedly asks if I’m okay.  I yell back that I’m okay, ask to him to get my shoe, and yell that my chain broke.  T2 goes pretty quick and I’m out onto the run in 1:08, even with putting socks on and the long run in.

RUN Well too many bikes in transition told the story.  But, I press on anyway determined to finish and also not be last.  My running legs are there but they’re complaining a little bit as I tackle this first major climb.  I pass a few folks walking and I’m breathing heavily here to almost panting.  As I’m coming closer to the top, I see many people running on the other side, some who I recognized from the First Timers meeting.  My heart sinks a bit, but I press on.  Make it to the top, recompose, and start bounding down the hill.  Now, I had been having problems with my left knee but that didn’t reappear today and I really was moving quickly down the hill, passing a few people here and there.  Make the turn on Mountain Laurel, heading to the turn around and pass one more person.  Turned around, back out to the climb and it’s worse this time.  I’m moving very slowly but I’m not walking and I’m really breathing heavily here and panting.  Just a bit more to the top…  Finally, I reach the aid station at the top and it’s pretty much all downhill from here.  Again, bounding down it but passed by a Half Lite guy who was really moving!  Still, the parking lot at the bottom is in sight and now I’m on the final stretch where I see the finish.  Not too much left but I make the effort and unconsciously throw up my arms that I actually did finish despite the bike problem.  Yea!

Run time 40:55  28th out of 171

Overall place 151/171 with a time of 3:10:08.  Of course, last in my AG (9th).  After knowing my course times during my practice rides along with my swim and run times, I figure I would’ve come in 5th, possibly 4th in my AG if the bike had gone okay.  It would’ve been close to 3rd too as there wasn’t much time between 3rd and 4th.

Well, at least it wasn’t raining   BTW, preliminary examination from the bike shop indicates it was just coincidence that the chain decided to break when I had the fixed wheel on.  The wheel is turning smoothly.

Will I do this again next year?  Possibly just because it’s close and because I’d like to complete it smartly in competition without problems.  So we’ll see. 

Well, upon finishing the tough Brierman course, my 2008 Tri season comes to an end.  It’s had it’s share of “the thrill of victory” and “the agony of defeat”.  Taking a few days off before going into maintenance mode.  Ah, but fear not.  Back next year as Eagleman 09 is already planned.  We’ll see what else the 2009 season has in store.

Until then Tri Race fans!