Greetings Tri Race fans! “Race Report” Dave here with my first report of the 2009 season. For those that want just to see my final results, scroll down the page to the pertinent sections.
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…