A Mayoral Race

With Iceman settled into the transition area the day before, there wasn’t much to do when the alarm shook my limbs awake at 3:40 a.m. for the 2010 Inaugural Washington DC Triathlon. I soon found myself and a few shadowed faces ferrying our way through the dark, not toward the Styx, but rather an equally imposing Potomac. There was an energy and unspoken connection as we marched toward an unknown fate before the sun’s first rays had even warmed the water, roads, and paths that lay before us.

More than a few miles short on training, I knew that I had to race with my head rather than lean on a non-existent training foundation. I reviewed my transition set-up and found a spot to overlook the sprint swim start. Between pump-up songs and a mental run through of the race, Lauren rode up prepared for a full day of photography and overly-hyped spandex-clad triathletes before most have felt the rejuvenating power of caffeine.

With the sun barely cresting the horizon it was evident this race would have more than a taste of home as the mercury was set to hit the mid-90s. I was soon joined by my fellow 20-29 year old competitors for a wetsuit free struggle through the river.
The first few splashes and thrashes indicated the chaos that was to come, but I steadied myself and settled into a plodding tortoise-inspired rhythm.

Within a few strokes and errant kicks from my fellow competitors I could tell that this was going to be more about survival than speed. When my goggles fogged up, my suspicions were confirmed! After 1500 meters of mostly blind swimming I found myself approaching the dock and hit the ground running…and apparently in dire need of a tan!

The swim had been slow, but I was looking forward to seeing how well I could tackle the bike course. My transition was quick and soon enough I was rolling past the Washington Monument, the White House, and all of the DC sites.



I’m always surprised by the high speeds I see when I first start the bike leg of a race, however, mile after mile I kept seeing those high numbers. My legs felt great, so I kept pushing at every opportunity. Seeing Lauren after the first loop gave me a great burst of energy and I surged through the bike in a new personal best of 22.6 mph. Only a few people overtook me on the bike course, and since their bikes cost 3 to 4 times the price of mine…I didn’t feel too bad. Plus, I knew I’d get my revenge on the run.

Lauren rolled up next to me on her bike early in the run as I was giving a few words of encouragement to a few fellow racers. She mentioned that the mayor was only a few minutes ahead of me, so with some prey to chase down I let the legs loose. I felt great early on and knew that I was set for a good run. The miles went by quickly as I easily held my pace under 7s. In hindsight I probably could have pushed the pace a little harder, but I was more concerned with keeping my core temperature down and avoiding a late bonk (something I hadn’t been able to do in a few of my final workouts).

I spotted Mayor Fenty just before mile 3, but I knew the gap was too big. No matter, I was enjoying soaking in all of the sites and happy that my body was taking the miles in easily. I tried to push the pace, but I think in the back of my mind I was still worried about making my closing push too soon with one final climb up Capital Hill remaining. I got a few nice shout outs on the course and set my sites on the finish line.

Lauren was primed for the finishing stretch and I did my best to hold off any late sprinters. The Inaugural DC Tri was in the books, and I even stumbled into the Mayor (who incidentally I did beat, care of his earlier start)!

After catching my breath and finding my photographer (who did a pretty damn good job I’d say!) we strolled through the post-race celebration and cleaned up on the free gear and even snagged a recovery massage. With a BBQ with friends and a nap calling my name we were ready to hit the road, but I made one quick stop to grab my results. I thought the volunteer was just being friendly when he said congratulations, but much to my surprise I actually finished on the podium…3rd place in the age group! Wow, how that happened, I have no idea, but I was pretty thrilled…especially when you see the competition!

Final Stats:
2:18:21 (3/106 M25-29, 39/883 Overall)
Swim – 27:47…ouch (128th)
T1 – 2:07
Bike – 1:05:48 (73rd) – a new personal best!
T2 – 1:07 (99th percentile)
Run – 41:37 (38th)