I went into this race thinking I had something to prove to myself. That I could put together a mistake-free race and get a good result. I left a podium finish on the table in my last race and I had no intention of repeating that in this one.
New for the race this year was bike drop off the day before. I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to get the first selection of the transition spot that I wanted without having to get up early on race day. I brought my bike up just as they opened up for packet pickup. I then took my bike down and racked it in the very first rack near the bike out. This was one long transition box, much longer than it has been in previous years. I set up with my bike pointing to the center lane to make sure I had no obstructions and not having a bike to the right of me was also going to be a plus. I was going to win T1 & T2 and nothing was going to get in the way of it. We were told that the swim was not going to be wetsuit legal so I was not going to have it on to slow me down. There are no prizes or awards for winning transition; it’s just a point of pride that I put on myself. Don’t get me wrong, it’s worth it to shave off any seconds you can in a sprint race so it can benefit me in the end but I don’t think I’ve lost a race because of my transition.
Saturday
knowing that we couldn’t wear a wetsuit help me decide which one of my many tri kits I would wear for the event. I choose my red kit; it’s perfect to swim in and doesn’t flare out around the collar catching water like a parachute. It was supposed to be a hot and muggy day so I needed to make sure I was prepared for it. I had plenty fluids in me but I didn’t want to take any salt tablets or any gels so to get some sodium in me I decided to eat a Cup of Noodles (those things have a ton of sodium in them). The sodium would help me retain fluids during the event and I actually did eat something which I normally can’t do on race morning. I arrived at the park at about 5:30am and there were plenty of people there with bikes racked near mine so I was glad that I got the spot I wanted. It didn’t take me long to get my area set up so I walked the transition area a few times game planning my strategy for it then went off and did some socializing.
Swim (750m – 11:23 – 36th overall)
On the horn, I started swimming behind two other guys. I did not put my head down because I was worried I would get kicked in the face so I stayed with a Tarzan stroke until I could get to a clear path. Eventually, I found my path then got into my stroke. As I was swimming along I had no one near me which was a little bit of a surprise seeing as it was early on but then I noticed that I was headed to the left side of the first buoy so I had to make a slight course correction to get to the right side of the buoy. After that I there was contact with other swimmers but I didn’t let it slow me. The first turn buoy seemed to come up quick. I made the turn the headed for the next buoy and I got to that one quickly also. After I made the turn at that buoy it was time to head back to the beach. I breathe to my left when I swim and didn’t notice that a guy towing a canoe was passing me. Then all of a sudden, there it was, a canoe to my right, and it was pulling away from me. Well, I wasn’t picking up the shore well because the sun had popped out so I followed the canoe. However it started to slow or I was getting faster but either way, I had to change my path and I eventually went by it. I swam up to the beach until my hand hit the bottom a few times then I stood up, however, it seemed like I was in deeper water than I wanted to be so I had a few slow steps before I could get my feet up high enough to begin my run. I didn’t try to run too fast while I was in the sand but as soon as I hit the pavement I picked up my pace and ran past a few people.
Everyone had come to the consensus that the swim was shortened. I was really excited to see the 11:23 on the board because that would be a personal best by a few minutes, however; a shortened course would explain the quick swim.
T1 (00:36 1st overall)
As soon as I hit the timing mat for the transition box I hit the gas. I heard people screaming go Dale but never saw a face I was running so fast. I got to my bike, grabbed my helmet, clipped it on the first try, grabbed the bike and was outta there! Wow, that was a good one, I knew when I left it was going to be good but no one was even near that my time. I made one little bitty mistake when I ran to the right of my bike (which I would normally do when taking off my wetsuit) then grabbed my helmet. I should have stopped right in front of it then grabbed my helmet. My buddy Paul joked with me afterward that he heard my footsteps as I ran past him in transition. He said I could have at least stopped to say hi…lol.
Bike (11.2 mil – 30:07 – 13th overall)
Because I was so close to Bike-out I had to run past the mount line a bit to avoid some other people who were stopped mounting their bikes. I did my normal flying mount and pedaled with my feet on top of my shoes until I got out of the park. Before I got my feet in my shoes one guy in my AG passed me but once I got my feet in my shoes I was able to get going and quickly passed him. I passed quite a few people on the bike. I had changed my seat height from my last race because I thought I had it too high. I dropped it about a quarter of an inch and I could feel it. My hamstrings were being brought more into play and that had me worried a bit because I didn’t know if I was going slower. I got out of my seat a little more on the hills in this race than I did in the last. There was one hill that stretched out a bit so I was on and off the seat several times on it. I wished I could have powered all the way up it. I was only passed for good by one rider on the bike and that didn’t happen until about 10 miles in. I knew I was having a good ride but didn’t know how well until I saw my watch results and saw that I averaged 22.3 mph! That was my best ride in a few years so I need to keep my seat right where it is, maybe the 13th overall should have clued me in. As I was setting up to do my flying dismount a woman passed me headed to the dismount line. She was still on the gas so I guess she might have thought I was in her way because I slowed to get my feet out of my shoes. Then I almost had a disaster when I pulled my feet out, they hit the ground and started to spin. One hit so hard it bumped the chain partly off. Luckily I was able to get my feet on my shoes and pedal before the chain could come completely off. Shortly after that, I swung my leg over my seat and rolled towards the dismount line and stepped off into a run and I ran right past that lady getting off her bike.
T2 (00:36 1st overall)
My rack spot was only about 15 feet from the transition entrance so as I ran in I was caring the bike and carefully placed it in the rack while the tire was still spinning. I quickly unclipped and pulled off my helmet, put on my running shoes, grabbed my race belt and hat and took off running in a full out sprint. Another fantastic transition and I knew it. A friend came up to me after the race and said he and another friend said they saw me. One guy said is that Dale, the other guy said no, that can’t be him, he doesn’t run that fast. The other guy says I think it’s him. I said yup, that was me, in a full out sprint. Then he asked, did you keep that up for the whole run and I said oh no, as soon as I got out of the box I slowed it down.
Run (5k – 23:31 – 59th overall)
Like I said, I backed it way down after coming out of transition. My HR was sky high and it took about a mile for me to get it and my breathing under control. I probably got passed by about 8-10 people out on the run. My legs still don’t want to go on the run and I really need to figure it out. No one in my AG passed me so I figured I’d be on the podium but not sure where. As I approached the finish line I was happy to see a 1:06:01 which would be a PR for this race for me. My official time was 1:06:05, 18th overall out of 204, 2nd in AG out of 12.
After checking the results on both the Sprint and Olympic races I discovered that I had the best T1 & T2 of both races, that’s 322 racers…I’m going to have to start doing clinics!
Now I have a nice long break before my next race in September…I’m going to go stir crazy…lol
Diary of an Age Group Triathlete 