I signed up for this race immediately returning from my recent DNF as I was looking for positive closure on my 2007 tri season. The race closed shortly after I signed up and after some reconnaissance, my chances for a high finish seemed pretty good. I was psyched to have a good day.
After the cold weather and poor equipment last race, this had neither. It was really nice for this time of the year; warm temps, sunny skies with a bit of wind. The format has 18 swimmers per wave in a 6-lane pool for a 500-yard swim, followed by a 13.7 mile bike ride, finished off with a 5K cross country run.
SWIM
I was in wave 9 with the other 'fast' swimmers. I was the "C" swimmer in the fastest lane. The "A" swimmer was on a relay and expected to go 5:20, the "B" swimmer wanted to go around 5:45, the same as me. After the first 100, I could see that I split a 1:05, a touch on the fast side. By 150, I was on the "B" (AKA Jennifer) swimmers feet. I stayed with her for a 50, hoping to draft, but she wasn't keeping pace so we managed to arrange a pass without stopping. The "A" swimmer was way ahead, and ended up passing me at the 350. I got to draft of him before he was done, so that was nice. I ended up with a 6:04, which includes the time to hop out of the pool and run outside, so I probably split a 5:50 or so for the 500.
T1
A goal for next year is to get used to biking and running without socks. I lost about three spots fiddling with them in transition. Maybe some triathlon-specific shoes, too.
BIKE
The pre-race meeting warned of "new pavement" on the bike course. They cleared "as much gravel as they could," but it was still sketchy in some spots. "New pavement" to my civil engineering mind is smooth, bump-free, fresh asphalt. Apparently, "new pavement" can also mean chip-sealed gravel, where they pour tar on the roadway and cover it with pea-sized gravel and then compact it with rollers. The result is a fresh surface that extends the life of the roadway. However, it's not the smooth surface I was expecting.
Although I beat her by 25 seconds out of the water, Jennifer had a faster transition and lead the way out. Now she was my rabbit. At the start, she absolutely flew with the wind. But, once we turned and there were some hills, I made some gains and the gap shrunk. After the final turn down the long and windy homestretch, I started to reel her in. She held on and we entered transition at the same time.
The 30mph wind gusts on the course challenged not only me, but especially those on mountain and comfort bikes. The entire two miles back to transition was directly into the wind. Many newbies didn't have aero or even drop bars, and their body turned into big sails. I yelled "Keep cranking!" to those I passed, but I don't know if they could hear me. I finished the 13.7 mile course in about 39 minutes including T1, good for tenth best overall.
T2
Nearly left with helmet on. Jennifer again lead the way out ten feet in front of me.
RUN
This is a tough run course. Continuously undulating, it's really fun to run. Jennifer led me out to a 7:22 first mile. And then we hit the woods and she was gone. Lots of tight turns made it hard to see far ahead, and my pace slowed as a result. Running through the woods and over boardwalks, I tried to hit all the tangents to keep the course as short as possible. On the final hill, I had to take a short walk break. I hated to do it, but it really helped. Once at the top, I finished strong. It felt good to actually cross the finish line. I ran the hilly 5K CC course in 24:55, which includes T2. Good enough for 10th best overall.
SUMMARY
I finished the course in 1:10:25 for 7th overall and 1st in my age group. Though it wasn't a highly competitive race, it was good to earn the gold medal. My first in triathlon. And to top it off, I won a 1,000,000 candle power, hand held, rechargeable spotlight in the post-race raffle. I have not a clue what to use it for.
