Satsop Sprint Triathlon
Saturday, Aug 4, 2007
550 yds, 12.5 mi, 5 km
Swim 10:46, T1 48 sec, Bike 39:29, T2 34 sec, Run 20:31 (Total 1:12:09)
Goals: Being a small race, I knew that unless I had a bad day, I would place in the top five, so of course my goal was to win the whole thing. Short of that, at least win my age group.
Pre race
Drove the 1.5 hours North the night before. This would be my first race without family or friends to cheer me on. On the one hand, it felt strange, but on the other hand I was looking forward to the post-race socializing without having two whiny kids and a frazzled wife begging me to get in the car. I found a wide spot in the road and pulled over for a few hours of sleep in the back of the wagon.
Race morning I woke before my alarm (in fact, I had 4 bloody hours until race start), bought a cup of coffee, and drove the five minutes to the park. The sign at the park entrance read "Park Hours 8am to 10pm - No Combustible Engines" - WTF??!!! Whatever - no idea what a combustible engine would be...
Since I planned on being at or near the front of the pack, I wanted to drive the bike course. Glad I did. It wasn't hard to follow, but I would have had a hard time not gawking at the nuclear cooling tower 100 yards from the road if I'd not seen it before riding past. I mean, it was right there. Wild. Got back to the race site and the RD had shown up. He had his whole family, including 8 y.o. daughter, setting up. I pitched in, helping set up the bike racks and watching the "fam" set up for yet another race. Boy, there is a LOT of stuff to do to get ready for a tri.
The Race
The swim was held in a small lake which I believe was probably one of the cooling ponds for the (long defunct) nuke plant. For the sprint race, it was just out to the bouy and back. I opted to go without a wetsuit, as the swim was short enough that I figured it would hurt me more in T1 than it would help in the water. Swim was good, no real issues. T1 felt slow, but 48 seconds is by FAR the fastest I've ever switched to the bike. I also went with no watch (using Ronbo's philosophy that if it don't hurt, the pace is too slow).
Got on the bike and hammered right away. It wasn't long before I had the road to myself, which was a strange feeling. I knew I had a couple rabbits, though, as I was not first out of the water. Eventually started passing folks, but most of them appeared to be slower Oly racers. Got passed by one obvious sprinter, but just couldn't quite hold onto him up the hill to the cooling tower. I was hoping to catch him on the downhill, as I tend to really boogie (no fear, baby), but he was just as crazy as me and held me off even at 35+ mph. Blasted in and out of T2 and it was time for the real pain to start.
My right calf cramped twice in my first ten steps of the run and I was worried, but all my brick training has paid big dividends and it wasn't long at all before I was holding a solid run pace. I could see three guys ahead of me, but we were all holding the same pace and I just couldn't reel them in. On the other hand, I had at least a minute on the next guy behind me, so I figured I was headed for a safe 4th place finish. Coming in to the finish, though, one guy headed back out for his second loop of the Oly race (wow, glad I wasn't competing against him!) and I cruised in at 3rd overall.
Results & Thoughts
1/6 AG
3/65 OA
This was a unique race. Very small, felt very much like a family reunion, with everyone welcoming eachother and talking to the RD's kids like old friends. The course was really cool, I've never been so close to a nuclear tower, it was amazing (sorry no pictures, next year I'll bring the fam and get some photos). I'm pretty sure the bike course was long, as my computer read 12.8 miles and that would make a lot more sense given my time. On the other hand, the run course...seems like it would be hard to mis-judge the distance, as it was entirely on a road, but 20:31 would be a huge distance PR for me, let alone a triathlon PR. I want to believe, but wow that's fast.
Post Script
The reason I was on my own for this one is that DW was racing the same morning. Her goal was to finally break the one-hour mark for a 10K, which she did - and then some. She finished in 58:45!! A good day of racing for the Bannons.
------------------
Running To My Future
Me[/URL" target="_blank"> and My Log[/URL" target="_blank">
The Newbie Wiki[/URL" target="_blank">
http://This message has been edited by mbannon (edited Aug-05-2007).
Saturday, Aug 4, 2007
550 yds, 12.5 mi, 5 km
Swim 10:46, T1 48 sec, Bike 39:29, T2 34 sec, Run 20:31 (Total 1:12:09)
Goals: Being a small race, I knew that unless I had a bad day, I would place in the top five, so of course my goal was to win the whole thing. Short of that, at least win my age group.
Pre race
Drove the 1.5 hours North the night before. This would be my first race without family or friends to cheer me on. On the one hand, it felt strange, but on the other hand I was looking forward to the post-race socializing without having two whiny kids and a frazzled wife begging me to get in the car. I found a wide spot in the road and pulled over for a few hours of sleep in the back of the wagon.
Race morning I woke before my alarm (in fact, I had 4 bloody hours until race start), bought a cup of coffee, and drove the five minutes to the park. The sign at the park entrance read "Park Hours 8am to 10pm - No Combustible Engines" - WTF??!!! Whatever - no idea what a combustible engine would be...
Since I planned on being at or near the front of the pack, I wanted to drive the bike course. Glad I did. It wasn't hard to follow, but I would have had a hard time not gawking at the nuclear cooling tower 100 yards from the road if I'd not seen it before riding past. I mean, it was right there. Wild. Got back to the race site and the RD had shown up. He had his whole family, including 8 y.o. daughter, setting up. I pitched in, helping set up the bike racks and watching the "fam" set up for yet another race. Boy, there is a LOT of stuff to do to get ready for a tri.
The Race
The swim was held in a small lake which I believe was probably one of the cooling ponds for the (long defunct) nuke plant. For the sprint race, it was just out to the bouy and back. I opted to go without a wetsuit, as the swim was short enough that I figured it would hurt me more in T1 than it would help in the water. Swim was good, no real issues. T1 felt slow, but 48 seconds is by FAR the fastest I've ever switched to the bike. I also went with no watch (using Ronbo's philosophy that if it don't hurt, the pace is too slow).
Got on the bike and hammered right away. It wasn't long before I had the road to myself, which was a strange feeling. I knew I had a couple rabbits, though, as I was not first out of the water. Eventually started passing folks, but most of them appeared to be slower Oly racers. Got passed by one obvious sprinter, but just couldn't quite hold onto him up the hill to the cooling tower. I was hoping to catch him on the downhill, as I tend to really boogie (no fear, baby), but he was just as crazy as me and held me off even at 35+ mph. Blasted in and out of T2 and it was time for the real pain to start.
My right calf cramped twice in my first ten steps of the run and I was worried, but all my brick training has paid big dividends and it wasn't long at all before I was holding a solid run pace. I could see three guys ahead of me, but we were all holding the same pace and I just couldn't reel them in. On the other hand, I had at least a minute on the next guy behind me, so I figured I was headed for a safe 4th place finish. Coming in to the finish, though, one guy headed back out for his second loop of the Oly race (wow, glad I wasn't competing against him!) and I cruised in at 3rd overall.
Results & Thoughts
1/6 AG
3/65 OA
This was a unique race. Very small, felt very much like a family reunion, with everyone welcoming eachother and talking to the RD's kids like old friends. The course was really cool, I've never been so close to a nuclear tower, it was amazing (sorry no pictures, next year I'll bring the fam and get some photos). I'm pretty sure the bike course was long, as my computer read 12.8 miles and that would make a lot more sense given my time. On the other hand, the run course...seems like it would be hard to mis-judge the distance, as it was entirely on a road, but 20:31 would be a huge distance PR for me, let alone a triathlon PR. I want to believe, but wow that's fast.
Post Script
The reason I was on my own for this one is that DW was racing the same morning. Her goal was to finally break the one-hour mark for a 10K, which she did - and then some. She finished in 58:45!! A good day of racing for the Bannons.
------------------
Running To My Future
Me[/URL" target="_blank"> and My Log[/URL" target="_blank">
The Newbie Wiki[/URL" target="_blank">
http://This message has been edited by mbannon (edited Aug-05-2007).
