Inaugural Vancouver All-American Sprint Triathlon
Vancouver (not B.C.), Washington (not D.C.) ? Yes, that?s our unofficial city motto
9-16-07
.5 mile swim, 11 mile bike, 3.1 mile run
Background
My last triathlon of the year, and the inaugural year of this race, which was held a mere two miles from my house, right on my training route. Combined with a reasonable 9 am start time, this made for the most relaxing race morning I?ve ever experienced. Woke up at 6 am, had a bowl of cereal, double checked my gear, then realized it was 6:30 am and I had nothing to do for the next 1.5 hours until transition opened. So I took a shower, surfed the internet, and tried to take a short nap but was too nervous that I would not wake up in time, so eventually I just headed down to the lake. DW and kids would follow shortly before race time.
The pre-race briefing ? lots of head scratching due to changed bike course
The Swim ? a.k.a. Ironman Practice
The swim was held in Klineline Pond, a very small lake popular with swimmers and ?urban fishermen? (mostly dads with small children). The circumference of the lake is almost exactly a half mile, so it is also a popular place for local triathletes to practice their open water swimming. The swim start was a bit crowded, with all 90-100 athletes in a single wave, wedged between the roped swim area on the left and a retaining wall about 30 feet to the right. Picture 90 swimmers heading out 100 feet and making a sharp left turn around the roped area. It was pandemonium. I was literally laughing as I was pummeling and being pummeled, it was insane. I can hardly imagine what an Ironman start must be like. After the first turn it opened up and I found some clean (if murky) water and settled in. Being such a small body of water, the surface was smooth as glass, which was great. My arms were getting tired toward the end, but that?s not surprising given my pace of 1:37/100 yards, a decent effort for me. I was 10th out of the water around 14:45 or so (still waiting for official results).
That?s me in the white cap ? the RD handed out random used swim caps before the start, very strange!
T1
Relatively uneventful, although next year I definitely need to ditch the socks. That probably accounts for almost half my T1 time.
Wasting time putting on socks in T1
The Bike ? Did he say turn left on 4th or take the 4th left???
Due to road construction the bike coarse was radically changed at the last minute. From a clean lollipop route, it became a wandering maze through residential neighborhoods. At the pre-race briefing I eventually gave up trying to follow the RD?s instructions and went for a warm-up swim instead. Thankfully the course was well marked and the volunteers did a great job, there were no issues. Well, no issues except the lingering fatigue in my legs from Thursday night?s time trial, but I expected that. There were several short but very steep hills, which is where I learned that I?m slow on the climbs and fast on the flats. I passed several people on the flats, they passed me back on the climbs, then I passed them back on the next flat. Only one managed to pass me and hold the position, so I was in 6th place coming in to T2. Average bike speed right around 20 mph.
T2
Nothing to see here, folks, just grab your shoes and motor.
The Run ? A Time for Pain
I knew right away this was going to hurt. Being a B+/A- race, I tapered but I also hammered my Thursday time trial since I really wanted a solid picture of my speed before heading into the off-season. In the first half mile I had to noticeably slow my pace twice. I watched the #5 man pull steadily away from me, but fortunately there was no one behind me. Until the turnaround. As soon as I made the turn and headed back I discovered no less than FOUR people on my a$$, two of them ?mature? ladies in racing flats with very serious expressions on their faces. Ruh roh. I picked it back up to my earlier pace, leaving three of the four behind, but one of the gals was dead set on passing me. You know you?re racing all-out when spittle streams from the corners of your mouth unchecked and unwiped. Oh, the pain. And still she was gaining on me. With about a mile left I didn?t think I could hold on and I was just waiting for her to kick it into high gear. I briefly thought ?if she wants it that bad, she can have it, I?m cooked.? Immediately, though, I thought ?no, that?s not fair to her or to me, you race to the finish line.? I held on. She held on. When was she going to make the final push? With half a mile to go, I decided to go all in. I lengthened my stride and hit a new level of pain, but somehow the longer stride felt good, and I steadily pulled ahead of Miss Speedy Shoes. I made one swipe across my mouth to look good for the cameras and crossed the finish line with a 21:21 run split and a 6th place finish overall.
Finished the race, finished the season, Yes!!
Post Race
Once my stomach stopped churning I made sure to congratulate the racers who finished just before and just after me, as they served as my inspiration throughout. Miss Speedy Shoes was friendly, but not very talkative. Something about a pulled calf muscle. The 5th place finisher, however, talked my ear off. Being a local race, I knew lots of other people from masters swimming, etc., so it was quite the little social hour, that was neat.
Final Thoughts
My overall goal for this race season was to race enough to be tired of racing by Fall. My other goal, of course, was to qualify for next year?s USAT nationals. Check and check. I had a good race season, and I?m happy to be done with it. I?ll do a couple more running races, but I?m ready to be done with the ride-run routine. My overall goal for the off-season, of course, is to be sick of base building and drills by Spring and be chomping at the bit to race like crazy. Expect big things next year!!
------------------
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 Sep-17-2007).
Vancouver (not B.C.), Washington (not D.C.) ? Yes, that?s our unofficial city motto
9-16-07
.5 mile swim, 11 mile bike, 3.1 mile run
Background
My last triathlon of the year, and the inaugural year of this race, which was held a mere two miles from my house, right on my training route. Combined with a reasonable 9 am start time, this made for the most relaxing race morning I?ve ever experienced. Woke up at 6 am, had a bowl of cereal, double checked my gear, then realized it was 6:30 am and I had nothing to do for the next 1.5 hours until transition opened. So I took a shower, surfed the internet, and tried to take a short nap but was too nervous that I would not wake up in time, so eventually I just headed down to the lake. DW and kids would follow shortly before race time.
The pre-race briefing ? lots of head scratching due to changed bike course
The Swim ? a.k.a. Ironman Practice
The swim was held in Klineline Pond, a very small lake popular with swimmers and ?urban fishermen? (mostly dads with small children). The circumference of the lake is almost exactly a half mile, so it is also a popular place for local triathletes to practice their open water swimming. The swim start was a bit crowded, with all 90-100 athletes in a single wave, wedged between the roped swim area on the left and a retaining wall about 30 feet to the right. Picture 90 swimmers heading out 100 feet and making a sharp left turn around the roped area. It was pandemonium. I was literally laughing as I was pummeling and being pummeled, it was insane. I can hardly imagine what an Ironman start must be like. After the first turn it opened up and I found some clean (if murky) water and settled in. Being such a small body of water, the surface was smooth as glass, which was great. My arms were getting tired toward the end, but that?s not surprising given my pace of 1:37/100 yards, a decent effort for me. I was 10th out of the water around 14:45 or so (still waiting for official results).
That?s me in the white cap ? the RD handed out random used swim caps before the start, very strange!
T1
Relatively uneventful, although next year I definitely need to ditch the socks. That probably accounts for almost half my T1 time.
Wasting time putting on socks in T1
The Bike ? Did he say turn left on 4th or take the 4th left???
Due to road construction the bike coarse was radically changed at the last minute. From a clean lollipop route, it became a wandering maze through residential neighborhoods. At the pre-race briefing I eventually gave up trying to follow the RD?s instructions and went for a warm-up swim instead. Thankfully the course was well marked and the volunteers did a great job, there were no issues. Well, no issues except the lingering fatigue in my legs from Thursday night?s time trial, but I expected that. There were several short but very steep hills, which is where I learned that I?m slow on the climbs and fast on the flats. I passed several people on the flats, they passed me back on the climbs, then I passed them back on the next flat. Only one managed to pass me and hold the position, so I was in 6th place coming in to T2. Average bike speed right around 20 mph.
T2
Nothing to see here, folks, just grab your shoes and motor.
The Run ? A Time for Pain
I knew right away this was going to hurt. Being a B+/A- race, I tapered but I also hammered my Thursday time trial since I really wanted a solid picture of my speed before heading into the off-season. In the first half mile I had to noticeably slow my pace twice. I watched the #5 man pull steadily away from me, but fortunately there was no one behind me. Until the turnaround. As soon as I made the turn and headed back I discovered no less than FOUR people on my a$$, two of them ?mature? ladies in racing flats with very serious expressions on their faces. Ruh roh. I picked it back up to my earlier pace, leaving three of the four behind, but one of the gals was dead set on passing me. You know you?re racing all-out when spittle streams from the corners of your mouth unchecked and unwiped. Oh, the pain. And still she was gaining on me. With about a mile left I didn?t think I could hold on and I was just waiting for her to kick it into high gear. I briefly thought ?if she wants it that bad, she can have it, I?m cooked.? Immediately, though, I thought ?no, that?s not fair to her or to me, you race to the finish line.? I held on. She held on. When was she going to make the final push? With half a mile to go, I decided to go all in. I lengthened my stride and hit a new level of pain, but somehow the longer stride felt good, and I steadily pulled ahead of Miss Speedy Shoes. I made one swipe across my mouth to look good for the cameras and crossed the finish line with a 21:21 run split and a 6th place finish overall.
Finished the race, finished the season, Yes!!
Post Race
Once my stomach stopped churning I made sure to congratulate the racers who finished just before and just after me, as they served as my inspiration throughout. Miss Speedy Shoes was friendly, but not very talkative. Something about a pulled calf muscle. The 5th place finisher, however, talked my ear off. Being a local race, I knew lots of other people from masters swimming, etc., so it was quite the little social hour, that was neat.
Final Thoughts
My overall goal for this race season was to race enough to be tired of racing by Fall. My other goal, of course, was to qualify for next year?s USAT nationals. Check and check. I had a good race season, and I?m happy to be done with it. I?ll do a couple more running races, but I?m ready to be done with the ride-run routine. My overall goal for the off-season, of course, is to be sick of base building and drills by Spring and be chomping at the bit to race like crazy. Expect big things next year!!
------------------
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 Sep-17-2007).
