Trimax Blue Marsh Triathlon

I recently bought a new aero (read: dorky) helmet that I found on-line for a great price.  Anxious to give it a try, I signed up for one last tri for 09.

Almost all of the local races were sold out for the year, but I found the Blueman Sprint in Reading, PA (about an hour away).  This small event looked perfect for my lack of training on the bike and in the pool. 

A very early morning found me on the road before six and to the race just after seven.  After a laid back check-in/registration I went through the usual pre-race routine and surveyed the site. 

When I said small earlier, I meant it.  This picture shows the entire transition area, as well as all of check-in.  However, the smaller races have a great feel to them that you can’t find elsewhere.  Heck, they were making course adjustments while giving the race briefing.  We were literally in the lake ready to start and they were making changes based on questions and feedback.

Speaking of the lake…when I arrived, the water was 72 degrees and the outside air was just cresting 44.  It made for some pretty cool views:

The little ball floating on the left was our starting point, and hidden away in the fog and mist way to the right was the next buoy.  From there we headed back to the large buoy that you can see, back to the ball, and then did the whole loop one more time.  It was supposed to be around .6 miles, but most people thought it was probably a little short.

Here is a quick comparison shot from the morning fog to after the race.  You can just see the far away buoy in the second picture, way off to the right.

After my best attempts to stay warm, I went for a quick 10 minute jog and then headed back to transition to make sure everything was in working order.

Here is a look at my helmet all ready to go on my bike and my minimal transition area.  Just shoes and my race number (122).  I’ve learned that you can save a ton of time in transition by just simplifying the whole process.  There is no need to worry about washing grass off your feet or putting on an extra layer.

Finally, it was time to start.  The water felt warm in comparison to the air temperature, so we all seemed pretty happy to get in.  The swim was uneventful for me, but I noticed I was just trailing the lead pack early on.  Quickly, my lack of swimming caught up to me and I found myself in a gap between the leaders and the trailing pack.  I did my best to settle into a groove and suffer through the two loops.  I came out of the water pretty much alone (18th overall), but I was happy to see most of the bikes still in transition.

I stripped off the wetsuit, had no trouble with the new helmet, and despite finding a spider under my cycling shoes, was off without too much incident.  The bike was a two loop course, totaling 13.5 miles.  It had some really challenging hills, but that always makes a race more rewarding for me.  My goal was to maintain a pace over 20 miles an hour.  On some of the descents I easily topped 30mph+.  Needless to say, I was dried off from the swim in no time.

I finished the bike with the 14th best time (20.4 mph), good enough to find myself sitting in 16th place overall.  After a rapid transition I was out for the run and quickly reeled in a big group and then left them without anyone tagging along for the ride.  I got a nice shout-out as I went by from the guy who was next to me in transition.

Again, the run was VERY hilly, but since I’ve been doing a lot of running lately and happen to like hills, I only saw it as an advantage and an opportunity to drop anyone who tried to keep up.  I remember hearing some footsteps and heavy breathing close to me on one of the climbs, but it quickly faded away when I was able to keep my turnover and pace high. 

Nearing the turnaround I realized that I hadn’t seen any runners heading the other direction.  Finally, I saw the leader looking very strong, and then I began to do a little counting…2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9…wow, I was cruising along in 10th overall, with 9th only a bit ahead.  I reeled in number nine, but he had no intention of letting me run away from him.  I knew that number 11 was close behind as well, so the competition served us both well as it really upped the pace (later confirmed by the guy who finished behind us).  We raced the final mile side by side until I made a move with about .4 to go.  I didn’t get too far, and he then went ahead. 

We were really trucking at this point.  Easily a low 6 pace, if not 5s due to the downhill grade and the fact that we were nearly sprinting.  As with all sports, it comes down to the mental edge, and that’s where I lost it here.  He put a burst in that I covered, but I convinced myself I wasn’t going to be able to get around him.  He opened a bit of a gap until I got made enough at myself to really drop the hammer and get back to him.  However, it was too little too late and we rounded into the chute with him taking 9th and me a very happy 10th overall (with the 4th best run of the day)!

After catching my breath and a post race bagel/muffin/cookie (gotta restock those carbs!), I gathered my things and waited around for the awards ceremony.  To my surprise, I’d snagged 2nd place in my age group.  Who knows how well I could have done with my usual training load!  The age group award crosses off another 09 goal, and ends my tri season on a great note…even if I had a dorky helmet!